Duke Luck Shines on Hazzard
by T.S. Blue
Summary: Some luck is good, some bad. And in a little place known as Hazzard County, luck is in the eye of the beholder. The Duke boys' final moonshine run. Rated T just to be on the safe side. Complete.
1. Some Decent Wheels

_Author's notes: Hi all! This is my first attempt at fan fiction; actually it's my first fiction in a very long time. I've enjoyed every minute (well maybe not _every_ minute, but most of the minutes) of creating it, and I hope you all get some pleasure from reading it._

_Just a quick note to give you all some background: should you feel as though some of your beloved Hazzardites are a little out of character, it may be because this story has a similar tone to those episodes that were actually filmed in Georgia. There are ways in which this story may be a little grittier than the series as it came to be in its later years._

_Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy it!_

_I do not own the Dukes or any of the major characters. Andy Roach is named for the agent that is mentioned in_ High Octane_, but his personalitywas created by me._

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**Chapter 1 – Some Decent Wheels**

"Lukas?" Both the use of Luke's full name and the slightly elevated pitch of his voice betrayed Bo's anxiety.

"Steady, Bo. Keep 'er on the road."

They weren't on a road, but Bo understood that his job was to keep the car under control while Luke took control of everything else. The only problem was that they were running blacked out, no headlights, on a cloudy night, down a deer path through the woods. And Luke could find nothing to even the odds as the car behind chased them down.

Bo and Luke Duke were in as much trouble as they ever had been. And nothing in the past month had prepared them for it.

_

* * *

One month earlier…_

The blonde teen watched with a practiced eye as the sky darkened. The sound of thunder and smell of electricity and moisture in the air alerted him that he had just enough time to gather the tools he'd been using to repair the hound dog pen and get into the house before the afternoon storm could break. Relentless summer heat, coupled with the cooler air dropping down from the mountains to the west led to an almost daily thunderstorm in the northern Georgia climate. The rain rarely brought relief, however. It somehow left both the fields and the farmhouse even steamier than they had been in full sunlight.

Across the farmyard, Bo could see his older cousin Daisy gathering the half-dry clothes off the line next to the house, while his white haired Uncle Jesse pulled the ladder away from the porch where the older man had been patching the roof. He sighed, hoping his uncle'd had sufficient time to complete the repair, considering how much water had come pouring in yesterday, and how ugly the sky was looking right now.

Pushing his too-long bangs out of his eyes, Bo Duke suddenly realized that he'd better stop distracting himself and start focusing or both he and the tools would still be out here when the rain hit. If that happened, he'd not only hear it from his uncle and guardian, but also his oldest cousin, Luke. Not relishing the idea of a two-pronged attack, Bo quickly gathered everything together, stashed it in the barn, and made for the old house just as lightning streaked towards the ground and the sky opened up.

"Hey, I thought maybe you'd built an ark out there and was fixin' to float away," Daisy greeted as a soggy Bo stumbled into the kitchen. He had to grin at his beautiful, but somewhat kooky, cousin's sense of humor. Sometimes that girl said the craziest things, but right now that was just fine with Bo.

"I hope Luke don't float away," commented Jesse, who was pouring himself some leftover coffee. "Them old tires on that truck won't keep him on the road, considerin' the way you boys drive." Bo giggled. "Hope he's got the good sense to stay in town until the storm passes."

"If Luke's got nothin' else, he's got sense," Daisy answered. "Besides, he's likely to see the rain as an excuse to turn a trip into town for supplies into a chance to stop in and spend some time with the guys at the Boar's Nest. I heard that Cooter was lookin' for him."

Bo used this brief interaction to escape unnoticed into the living room, where he could continue, in peace, the train of thought he'd been following before the rain. It was not in Bo's normally gregarious nature to want to be alone much. In fact, of the three cousins, he was the most likely to seek company, though Daisy was pretty outgoing as well. But for the last few weeks, ever since his graduation from high school, Bo had been feeling somewhat out of sorts, or maybe just out of place. He knew that graduation ought to have made him happy, but instead it had left him adrift. Although he'd hated school – absolutely hated it – at least it had been something to do, someplace to play football and be amongst friends. School provided him with a social contact that he was missing here on the farm.

It was not supposed to be this way. When Luke had left three years ago for Vietnam, Bo had been devastated. His cousin's confidence that he could handle whatever the Marines and the war threw at him did not console Bo in the least, nor did Luke's assertions that his youngest cousin would be fine without him.

_Luke had found him down by the creek, indigo eyes flashing, body rigid, as if preparing for a fight._

"_Why do they gotta take you? They already got so many." Even 15-year-old Bo knew the illogic of this complaint, but he couldn't help himself._

"_Aw, Bo…" Luke didn't even try to answer the question. "Listen, if me going now means you won't have to go in four years, then it's worth it."_

"_Butcha don't know what'll happen in four years, whether you go or not!"_

_Realizing that this argument could neither be won nor lost, and understanding the emotional nature of the boy standing in front of him with his jaw jutted in anger, but his eyes revealingly moist, Luke said only, "It's OK, Bo," and pulled him close. Past words, Bo expressed his opinion in tears._

_Over the next few years, all Bo saw of his cousin was letters and the occasional photo. Those photos brought Bo the most joy – visual proof that his cousin was alive, and also the most pain – an exhausted looking Luke with that horrible crew cut, his arms around boy-men that Bo would never know, and who were clearly replacing Bo in Luke's life. He didn't begrudge Luke his military friends; he knew his cousin needed them. He just minded that Luke was away at all, because if his cousin was here, there'd be photos of him and Bo, both looking young and lively, with full heads of opposite colored curly hair, arms around each other, leaning on the hood of Luke's yellow car. The young blonde was sure that even if his cousin made it home alive, he would forever resent these years taken from them._

_And so Bo decided that whenever Luke came home, they would begin to make up for lost time. He imagined all that they would do together: work, play and in-between._

Sitting here in the only house he could remember living in, with the only family he'd ever known, Bo couldn't help but idealize the life he'd lived before Luke left. Even though he recognized that things could not possibly be as perfect as he remembered them, Bo was sure that when they were kids, the four year age difference between himself and Luke hadn't much mattered. Certainly, everything that was important to his life he'd learned from his older cousin: hunting, fishing, how to hit a ball, how to sweet talk a girl. And in his most precious memories, Bo could find times when the young man he thought of as his older brother would talk to him, or just listen, which was really surprising when you thought about it, because neither of the boys tended to sit still for very long.

Since Luke had returned to the tiny town of Hazzard, in the county by the same name, Bo hadn't felt close to him at all. He guessed he spent enough time with his older cousin, seeing as they continued to share a bedroom, as well as chores, and Luke was certainly _friendly_ enough. There just didn't seem to be that close connection between them anymore, and his dark-haired cousin was as quick to go off alone as he was to spend time with Bo. Now that he was out of school, it was even harder on Bo that his once best friend seemed so distant.

"Hey Bo," Daisy greeted as she joined him in the living room, "the mail came; your car magazine is here." The blonde's mood picked up a little as she tossed it to him. He'd been trying to figure out how to soup up his own "runner," a car he could deliver the family wares in. There were several cars around the farm in various states of disrepair, including Jesse's older Ford pickup, a Plymouth that Daisy claimed as hers (though it had been Luke's before he left), the work truck that could move heavy items around the farm but probably was not road-worthy, an ancient pickup that Luke was using now that he was back, and a couple of wrecks stashed out in the old barn at the back of the property, from which the family would scavenge parts for all the working automobiles. But Bo's favorite, heck, everyone except Daisy's favorite, was Uncle Jesse's runner, _Sweet Tilly_. A deceptively heavy looking Ford, Tilly was actually capable flying down the roads and trails of Hazzard, carrying her precious cargo, which was painstakingly hidden behind false panels that were carefully padded to protect against breakage should some quick maneuvering cause the contents of the car to be jostled.

Under Jesse's skilled hands, Tilly was an amazing machine. Bo longed for more of a chance to drive the big black car; the few times he'd been in control of the vehicle, he'd felt a surge not only of power, but also of confidence. It was as though, behind the wheel of a powerful car like Tilly, he had a sudden sense of who he was and where he was going. Right now, this was a very good thing for Bo Duke.

Jesse had taught him the basics of driving quite some time back. On the confines of the farm, each of them had learned to drive in their early teens. They hadn't hit the blacktop until they were of legal driving age, and their uncle had a family rule about no one making a run (either as a driver or passenger) until they were 18. Since Jesse had taught him the nuts and bolts of driving, Bo had taken it upon himself to figure out handling the car through quick turns and stops, some planned, some spontaneous, and some downright frightening. The blonde felt like he was making progress. But he'd seen Luke make the car do things he'd never seen Jesse do, and hadn't yet figured out how to do on his own. Bo suspected that his uncle was capable of all that Luke was, and maybe more, but he sure wasn't going to teach those skills to his nephews; Jesse stubbornly insisted on keeping the boys alive. So Bo figured maybe he could kill two birds with one stone. If Luke was teaching him the finer points of whiskey moonshine runner driving, they'd also be spending more time together, rebuilding the close friendship they'd once had.

Having at least that much of a plan formed in his mind, Bo relaxed into more of his normal self. With a grin, he bopped his pretty female cousin on the head with his rolled car magazine.

"Bo Duke, I swear!" Daisy said, using one hand to shake a threatening finger while the other hand finger combed her long hair back into place. The scolding was softened by one of Daisy's winning smiles, though. "Just when I think you're growin' up and gettin' all serious, you prove me wrong. Good to know you're still you, sugar. I was startin' to wonder." Her smile turning mischievous, Daisy reached out and gently tickled her younger cousin. Her action was rewarded with a giggle, her favorite sound from the boy.

Stepping away from Bo and the sofa, Daisy took a quick look out the window, scanning the sky for a break in the weather. It was clearly not going to get any nicer out there for a while to come. Sighing, she turned back and faced the room, surprised to find Bo studying her.

"What's out there, Daisy-girl, your Prince Charming?"

Daisy arched an eyebrow at the teen, answering, "Yeah, he's gonna take me away from all this so I don't have to put up with you fellas any more."

"Nah," Bo laughed, "he'll just move in here with the rest of us and be one more guy for you to have to live with."

"It's bad enough looking after the three of you," the young woman chastised. "No wonder I used to always wish for a sister." Not wanting the teasing to get out of hand, because both she and the boy in front of her could be a little sensitive, Daisy sat down next to Bo and squeezed him into a quick hug. As they let go of one another, Bo turned to his magazine, leaving his cousin to her own thoughts.

Daisy silently marveled at how perceptive her teenaged cousin could sometimes be. Most of the time he was interested in his own things – cars, girls and sports, not necessarily in that order. But every now and then he would say something that made her realize that he was paying more attention to his surroundings than it seemed. Like that crack about Prince Charming. Did Bo know? Daisy herself was only figuring it out now, so she didn't think he could. In fact, she really hoped it was a coincidental remark.

_Just my luck_, Daisy thought. All three Duke cousins were known for their romantic adventures, though none had ever been very serious, at least as far as Daisy knew. Which was part of why she surprised herself with the realization that she was falling very much in love, and not only that, but with the worst possible person. And the best possible person.

Because loving Andy Roach was not a simple thing. Almost everyone in Hazzard had known almost everyone else in Hazzard their whole lives. Daisy found it hard to think of any of the boys she'd grown up with as anything more than the scab-kneed kids they'd been a mere decade before. She was frequently surprised at how attracted they were to her, since she'd been a skinny tomboy that almost no one noticed until well into high school.

But "newcomers" to Hazzard were not only rare, they tended to be dangerous; not because they were all criminals or anything, although the county's size and location did seem to attract an unusual number of those. No, the most dangerous new members of the Hazzard community were the ATF agents that would rotate through the Appalachian town. No agent ever asked to be assigned to the tri-county area, rather it was a rite of passage to learn the ropes in a smaller moonshining town before earning a more pleasant post in Atlanta, Savannah or Albany. Andy Roach was the latest of these inexperienced "revenuers" sworn to stop the illegal liquor trade. In other words, it was Andy's job to put an end to the only real income that the Duke farm produced.

Oh, the farm could come pretty close to sustaining them as far as food went, what with the garden and the animals, but of course the family needed more than food. The farm's primary crop, corn, would sell for only a dollar a bushel, thanks to the tremendous supply in Hazzard and the nonexistent demand. No, the only purpose for the corn was the very thing Andy Roach was placed in the tri-county area to stop: the production and sale of black-market corn whiskey. Uncle Jesse was locally and even regionally famous for his recipe, and as such was one of Agent Roach's prime targets.

Day work never stopped a man from having a social life, however, at least not in Hazzard. This part of the south was not known for its wealth, and like the people of the region, Hazzard could only afford one of most things, and there were some things it needed to borrow from its neighbors. There was just the one general store at which both the law and the law-breakers had to shop, side-by-side. There was only one garage, one doctor, one taxi and one place to go to relax.

This last was where Daisy and Andy had met: The Boar's Nest. While her cousins and uncle tended the farm and the whiskey works, Daisy had been hired to an in-town job. No Duke had ever punched a clock before, nor worked steadily for anyone other than another Duke, but Daisy was already a rarity in the Duke line. Raised by and among boys and men, she was fiercely independent and not likely to marry anytime soon. And while she did her share of the farm chores, she was built light and slender, so even she had to admit that she could not shoulder the kind of heavy work that the boys did. By mutual agreement, keeping house was as minimal a task as possible, since they did not spend a lot of time indoors anyway, and they all did their best to keep things in their rightful place. For that matter, everyone in the household pitched in to keep it running, which meant that everyone could cook to a greater or (in Bo's case) lesser extent, and while such things as laundry were left to Daisy, it was largely because she was the one with all of the clothes. The boys wore only slight variations on a theme, and had several interchangeable sets. Besides, when it came to clothes, Daisy and her male cousins had a very different definition of the word "clean."

And so it was that when the owner and proprietor of the Boar's Nest, County Commissioner Jefferson Davis Hogg, approached the young woman to wait tables at his seedy establishment, Daisy embarked on her own unique adventure, and took to it like a hen to laying. A town job, while historically eschewed by the Duke clan, afforded the family an advantage they'd never had before: someone at the center of activity to keep an eye and an ear out for trouble.

Trouble comes in the strangest, and sometimes most attractive, of packages. One sweltering noon it came strolling into the 'Nest, alongside a known enemy – its predecessor, Agent Joe Higgins. Despite her awareness of the man to his left, however, Daisy was instantly transfixed by Andy Roach. Not as ruggedly handsome as Luke, nor as charmingly cute as Bo, this man was striking nonetheless. His sandy hair and hazel eyes, along with the tall frame that looked solid enough, though not as muscular as a farm boy's, attracted Daisy immediately. But best of all was his charming disposition and quiet intelligence that matched her own.

Nothing more than basic pleasantries were exchanged at that first meeting, but even after Agent Higgins had taken his assignment in Atlanta, Andy Roach seemed to find his way to the Boar's Nest an awful lot during a certain blue-eyed, brunette beauty's shift, and Daisy found herself looking forward to these visits. Within a few weeks, the young Duke realized she was thinking about the newcomer all the time, despite the revenuer's badge and gun that he carried. Somehow they began running into each other in other locations in town as well, until just last night he'd met her at her car (actually Luke's car, to be honest, but he seemed loathe to make her give it up). When her shift ended at 2 AM, he'd been there, casually leaning against the rear fender. They'd walked to a more secluded area and begun the process of getting to know each other better.

This afternoon's rain had disrupted a half-baked plan to go into town before her shift and try to drop in on Andy at his work. Perhaps it was just as well, because Daisy's impulses did not always serve her well. After all, there was certainly no logical reason for a Duke to voluntarily go into a revenuer's office. Should anyone spot her there, the explanation part could get pretty tricky. Daisy was excellent at fast-talking shuck and jive, so long as Luke was the master planner and gave her a role to play, but this budding relationship with the government agent was nothing she wanted to involve her older cousin in. He'd kill her. Well, maybe not kill, but it wouldn't be pretty, and what he did wouldn't hold a candle to the rant that Uncle Jesse would subject her to. Then there would be Bo's disappointed eyes… no this had to stay her little secret.

"Of all the luck," Daisy muttered under her breath. Bo, still sitting at her side on the sofa, was oblivious.

* * *

Luke had, in fact, gotten "trapped" in town by the rain. He could have headed for home, but didn't relish the harassment from the local law while dodging mudholes in the ancient pickup, which had been a resident of the farm even longer than Luke himself. Instead, Luke was tolerating the more gentle harassment of his friends, who were, as was frequently the case, gathered at the local garage. 

"Losin' yer touch, no doubt about it," Cooter Davenport, the grungy mechanic whose father owned the garage, ribbed Luke.

"Nah, I just don't cheat like you. When I rebuild a carburetor, I make sure to use _all_ the parts, not just the ones I like," Luke retorted, grateful for the easy banter.

"You tell him, baldy," DoBro pitched in, supporting Luke, who laughed gamely, even though the "baldy" comment had cut a little close to the heart. The retired Marine was trying to readjust to his pre-military life, but so far it was an awkward fit at best. His not quite grown out "high and tight" was a visible symptom of his struggle to find his place here at home. He'd seen, done, too much that didn't fit with his old life here. He loved his family just as much as he had three years ago, and appreciated them even more, but he had an instinctive need to keep them separate from his war experience, especially Bo, who would look at him with those dark blue eyes and just about melt his heart with all that innocence. Stubborn as they were and close as they had always been, the Duke family did not understand his need for quite so much privacy. Luke had always been the most reserved of the family, keeping more to himself than even their patient uncle, who thought his eldest probably became that way because he, unlike Bo and Daisy, was actually old enough to know his parents before they had died. The family had missed Luke so much while he was away that they didn't seem to be able to give him much breathing room now, wanting to know what he was thinking, where he'd been, what he'd done, and what he was going to do next. His friends, on the other hand, asked him for nothing more than his company.

"Where's that little cousin of yours?" asked Cooter, who was as fond of Bo as he was of Luke.

"Left him fixin' some stuff at the farm. I'll bring him next time. Or he can bring himself. Sometimes I forget that."

"Yeah, he ain't exactly Luke's _little_ cousin these days," Brody reminded them.

"Pfft. He ain't that much taller than me, but he sure can see every gray hair on the top of your head," Luke retorted, causing Brody to check his reflection in the chrome of a hubcap.

"When you gonna get some decent wheels, anyway, Lukas?" asked Cooter.

Decent wheels were definitely something that the elder Duke boy knew he should want. Like most Hazzard boys, Luke had eaten, slept and breathed cars since he was a kid. He'd begun driving around the farm at 13, driving the dirt-covered back roads a year later and made it official with a license at 15 before hitting the blacktop. He'd learned the family trade since childhood, and had begun delivering it at 18 in Jesse's runner. He'd also done a fair amount of back road racing before Uncle Sam had taken him away from Uncle Jesse.

Somehow none of these activities seemed to interest the Marine since his return to northern Georgia. Actually, nothing much interested him; though he worked harder on the farm than he ever had before, it was mainly to distract himself. He also volunteered for the heavy work at the still, pulling the overnight shifts that his body was far more accustomed to than any of his kin. He preferred the offset schedule for now anyway, since it kept him from having to hold lengthy conversations with anyone. The only people who could understand the way he felt were others who'd experienced the same thing, and there were none currently in Hazzard. In Vietnam, Luke had been lonelier than he'd ever thought possible; here at home he was lonelier still.

"Guys, I gotta go," he announced abruptly, raising eyebrows all around. "Sorry, but Jesse needs me back home…" he added lamely, knowing that he'd just killed the jovial mood in the garage. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. "Look, I'll see you guys Friday night, OK?"

The young men shrugged, laughed, patted Luke on the back and sent him on his way.

* * *

From his vantage point overlooking Old Mill Road, Enos Strate kept watch. The young deputy's eyes practically popped from his head in his eagerness not to let a single law-breaker get past him. During his short tenure in uniform, Enos had already learned a few important lessons: superior rank did not always mean superior intelligence, the various branches of government and law were often at odds, and a patrol car, though powerful, did not handle like a moonshine runner. Enos knew about runners from both sides, as a former driver for his father back when his old man made moonshine, and now as the lawman he had become. 

On a late afternoon like this, however, Enos wasn't expecting to see anyone delivering corn whiskey. About all he could hope for was maybe a speeder. What he got instead was Luke Duke with a busted taillight. With a wide grin born of doing his duty, Enos flipped on his lights and siren, and began the chase.

Luke was not prepared for the light show in his rearview mirror, but it didn't matter. Reacting instinctively, he stood on the accelerator, fishtailing a little as the bald tires fought to grip the loose gravel and dirt surface of the wet road. Strike one. Glancing back, the dark haired Duke boy was surprised to see Enos behind the wheel of the cruiser. Unlike the rest of the sheriff's department, the new deputy could actually drive. Strike two. Luke narrowed his eyes, looking for the escape he'd need. In the meantime, he skirted the edges of the road, weaving from side to side. As the son of a moonshiner, Enos had some moves, but with any luck, Luke could get him to slide himself into a ditch by forcing him to oversteer. Approaching an overgrown cutoff road, Luke allowed himself a tight smirk. Enos had been forced to slow down to maintain control of the unfamiliar cruiser with its loose suspension. If the pickup could manage the turn at high speed, the Duke boy could lose the deputy in the dense brush of the old road. It was a perfect plan that did not take into account that there was another lawman on duty monitoring his newest charge. Just as Luke was preparing to crank the wheel to the right, Sheriff Rosco Coltrane pulled out from the thicket, blocking Luke's escape. Strike three.

"I got 'em, I got 'em!" the sheriff announced to no one in particular, as Luke slammed on the brakes and steered the truck into a 90 degree skid. The pickup managed to stop short of hitting the sheriff's cruiser, but Enos, coming up behind, was unprepared for the impromptu roadblock ahead, and began his skid too late to avoid the cars in front of him. Luke braced himself for impact: Bang-Boom.

"Ijit!"

"Sorry, Sheriff!"

With his pickup sandwiched between the two patrol cars, the Duke boy found he couldn't even get out of the ancient vehicle as both lawmen approached it from the front. Luke glared at Enos.

"That's one way to stop," he muttered.

"Sorry, Luke, but you have a busted taillight, and I had to stop you. It's dangerous and you coulda got hurt!"

"Right, coulda got hurt by getting rear-ended by another car," Luke sassed, one eyebrow raised, waiting for Enos to see the irony. He might have waited all day.

"All right, Luke Duke. License and registration."

Luke rolled his eyes, but stretched his arm out the window and passed Rosco the paperwork he'd asked for. There really was no alternative.

"Why'd you run, Luke?" asked Enos. "If you'da just pulled over, I woulda given you a ticket. Now I'm gonna have to charge you with evading arrest, too."

"Hush up Enos. I'll make the charges," the sheriff interrupted. Both Luke and Enos had known Rosco their whole lives. He was a pretty good lawman with a normally upbeat disposition and an occasionally unusual manner of expressing himself. The sheriff could be serious when dealing with real criminals, which at the moment, Luke was not. Luke's face registered surprise at Rosco's cold tone of voice. Enos simply lowered his head. The shy and somewhat clumsy deputy was desperate to do a good job and please his new boss, but he'd noticed that the sheriff was extremely testy lately. He was also unpredictable.

"All right, Luke Duke. Now I _could_ charge you with evading arrest and damaging county property…"

"I didn't damage no county property Rosco. Enos here done that," Luke protested, pulling himself up to sit in the doorframe of the old truck.

"Now you hush up. I said I could, I didn't say I was gonna. Don't you tempt me, Luke Duke."

Luke held up his hands in mock surrender, watching Rosco carefully. The sheriff had never cut him or any of his family a break before, and Luke didn't believe he was going to do so now.

"Now Enos, you get the garage on the radio there, and have them send a tow truck out to clean up this horrendous mess, and impound that vehicle. Then you give Luke here a citation for that taillight, and another'n for speeding."

"Yes sir, Sheriff, but…"

"Enos, now, no buts. Just do what I said." Rosco handed Luke his documents, then stalked around the front of his patrol car, climbing into the undamaged driver's side. With a shriek of metal on metal, the still-muttering sheriff yanked his car free of the pickup and rattled down the road.

"Listen Luke, I'm awful sorry, buddy. You shoulda stopped. Why didn't you?" Enos was genuinely befuddled, though he shouldn't have been. No moonshine runner would ever intentionally stop for lights and sirens, even if the person sitting below those gumballs was a childhood friend.

Leaving Enos' foolish question hanging because he couldn't have answered it in a civil tone, Luke slid back into the pickup and tried the ignition. When that failed, he shoved at the door. Finally, he climbed up and out of the window, muttering under his breath about stupid deputies.

Enos has seen this side of Luke Duke before, considering they had grown up together. Although he didn't understand this sullen fit of temper now, he chose to let Luke be. After all, he didn't want to have to charge his friend with assaulting an officer of the law.


	2. Someone Else's Drum

_Author's note: Hi again. Thanks to all who read Chapter 1, whether you reviewed or not. And special thanks to those who reviewed._

_In my first chapter I forgot to thank Hazzard Husker, who beta read this story and offered a number of useful suggestions as well as encouragement._

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Dukes or any of the major characters. Andy Roach is named for the agent that is mentioned in_ High Octane_, but his personality was created by me._

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Chapter 2 – Someone Else's Drum

Bo was the one who received Luke's call seeking a ride back from the garage. While Rosco had passed on arresting the Duke boy, the pickup had been impounded, leaving Luke stranded in town. Daisy had finally managed to head out for work, and Jesse'd walked out to check for storm damage to any of the remote buildings on the property, leaving Bo to retrieve Luke. Bo was grateful for the chance to help Luke out of a jam; Luke was relieved at the brief reprieve from having to tell Jesse about the status of the old truck.

* * *

"Rosco, you get in here now." The radio silence that greeted him did not please the man in white. "Rosco! If you don't answer me right now…" 

The sheriff startled from his half-sulk in time to say, "You'll find your fat sister divorced and standing on your doorstep," in unison with his boss. Although it was the last thing he wanted to do, Rosco picked up the CB mic to stammer, "Yes, sir, gyu, Boss. I'm gone."

There were times when the sheriff couldn't remember why he had gone into the law. He didn't think he had ever been as eager as Enos, but it seemed like he'd once enjoyed the job. In fact, he still liked some of his duties quite a bit: the high speed chases, the thrill of the collar, the police band/citizens' band radios though which he could command his minions… in fact, he had to admit this hating his job thing was a relatively new development, born, at least in part, of his changed relationship with the man he was headed towards right now.

Rosco's brother-in-law, also known as County Commissioner J. D. Hogg, was not a man that the sheriff trusted. Hogg had never been an honest man, but he was consistent. A lifetime resident of Hazzard, he'd kicked, scratched and clawed his way out of the poverty he'd been born into, using whomever he needed to, double-crossing friends, competitors and enemies alike. By his mid-twenties he'd begun to amass some wealth, and started lusting for power. Since his forties he'd led a checkered but successful political life, and now at 62 he was the wealthiest, most important man in Hazzard. Disliked by most, feared by many, respected by almost no one, Boss Hogg was maybe the most straightforward crooked man the south had ever known. He never claimed to be on the side of good, he was merely on his own side.

Rosco pulled himself into his most impressive stature of more than 6 feet as he entered the private back room of the Boar's Nest which served as one of Hogg's offices around the county. He hated how reliant he'd become on being in this man's good graces. Not so very long ago, the government and the law had been two separate functions in Hazzard; increasingly, they were becoming one. Part, though not all, of the merger had occurred a few years back, when Rosco's spinster sister Lulu had finally become Mrs. J.D. Hogg after a very long and strange courtship that had largely consisted of exchanges of both food and food related terms of endearment, something the sheriff tried not to think too hard about. More recently, the line between the local law and local law-maker had blurred even more as, for the first time, Sheriff Coltrane actually faced competition for his elected position. No one ever actually wanted to be sheriff before – it fell to Rosco almost by default. Now John Ledbetter had returned to the town of his childhood with plans of his own to run the place, and Rosco actually had to campaign. Which cost money. Which could only come from the wealthiest man in Hazzard, if and only if J. D. Hogg thought that Sheriff Coltrane was a worthy ally. Rosco didn't like to grovel, imagining himself a seasoned officer of the law and certainly above that. But grovel Rosco did.

"Rosco, you jackass, what was all that radio chatter I heard about Luke Duke? I told you to leave those Dukes alone."

"Yes sir, Boss, well you see, it wasn't me but my new deputy that chased him. But, see, it's OK, because I just made him write that boy a ticket and let him go." Rosco had removed his Stetson hat and was turning it in his hands as if trying to steer himself out of this conversation. No such luck.

"You'd better get that deputy of yours under control. I got bigger plans for that Duke family than a moving violation, and I'm gonna need 'em all out on the loose for it to work. It's time I eliminated some of my competition," the portly county commissioner growled around the cigar at the corner of his mouth.

"Yes sir," the sheriff muttered, fidgeting in self-loathing. "But I've got good news, good news. We impounded Luke's pickup truck!"

Rosco's smile was short-lived.

"You pea-brain! That truck's so old we couldn't sell the parts even if we did strip it, which we ain't gonna do. You just make sure that Duke boy gets his truck back for the regular impound fee. And Rosco…"

"Yes, Boss?"

"Impound cars that are less than thirty years old."

"Yes, Boss." As soon as he was dismissed, the sheriff hustled out of the roadhouse to resume patrol. At least in his car he could still convince himself that he retained control of the department under his command.

* * *

"'Smatter, Luke, you forget how to drive anything smaller than a tank?" 

The ice-blue daggers that turned his way shut Bo up quick.

Luke took a deep breath. Though he wanted to clobber his cousin, he reminded himself that he would have been facing a mighty long walk if not for Bo's eagerness to perform this rescue mission. And besides, it wasn't Bo's fault that Luke was always on edge, though he frequently managed to push Luke beyond the point of patience. Bo was young and in many ways still so innocent, and as annoying as that could be sometimes, Luke really wanted him to stay that way.

"Nah, but if you'd stop daydreamin' about girls and help me keep the cars runnin', they'd be in good enough shape to outrun ol' Rosco." Luke forced his tone to be jovial, and Bo bit, answering only with a guilty but relieved smile.

"What I really need is some decent wheels," Luke said, echoing his earlier conversation with his friends. It wasn't that he'd suddenly regained his interest in cars, simply his interest in being able to slip through the fingers of the very annoying sheriff's department.

"Hey, Luke?" Bo probed tentatively, watching for a sign of exactly which Luke Duke he was dealing with at the moment. When his oldest cousin simply regarded him with mild curiosity and no sarcasm, Bo went on, "I was thinkin' maybe you could show me some stuff, you know, like driving moves."

Neutrality turned to surprise. "Bo, you're already better behind the wheel than I was at your age. Besides, you sure you want the guy that let Rosco Coltrane catch him teachin' you anything?"

"Yeah, Luke, I'm sure."

Luke found that no matter what he did or did not want to do, he couldn't turn his young cousin down, not when Bo trusted him this much.

"OK, Bo, but it's gonna mean driving Daisy to work for awhile so's we can use a decent car. Ain't no way Jesse's gonna let me borrow Tilly when I tell him that I got the old pickup impounded today."

Bo just grinned his sympathy.

* * *

For the second time that day, Rosco pulled himself into an approximation of the menacing sheriff that he imagined himself to be. He might be marching to the beat of someone else's drum, but there was no reason that anyone else in the county he served needed to know that. After all, it would only be until his campaign was complete, and then he'd be back to his normal self. 

Shoving the door to the Hazzard branch of the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Bureau a little harder than was strictly necessary, Rosco burst into the room. Andy Roach, who had been taking notes on certain case files, jumped at the sudden intrusion.

"Gyu," Rosco said. _'Rookie,'_ he thought. "Listen there, Agent Roach, since you're new here, I think I'd better tell you what's what and who's who. That way you won't waste your time on any of the penny ante stuff."

"Oh, Sheriff?"

"Yes, because you see, there are people that have just got the one still, brewing for family purposes, you know, and then there are others that are really bad seeds, really bad."

"Is that right?" Andy asked, eyebrow cocked.

Rosco was beginning to sweat. This rookie was so dumb that he was going to have to spell it out for him. "Gyu, yes. Now you see, most folks around here just do a little business, but there's one family that you've got to look out for."

"Uh-huh…" The young agent remained impassive.

"Yes, ijit, just the one."

"You're repeating yourself, Sheriff."

"Right. Well you know, Jesse Duke, he runs 'shine through all three counties and probably as far as Nashville. So, gyu, he's the one, you know, to look out for. Not just him, but his nephews Bo and Luke, too."

"I'll keep that in mind Sheriff, thank you. Now if you don't mind…" Andy said, gesturing to the door, his face a picture of dismissal.

"Well, right, OK, I just wanted to be sure that you know. But well, I'm a busy man, got to go out on patrol, catch criminals, gyu, so I'll be going now." On the force of his own wind, Rosco blew out the door.

Andy Roach chuckled to himself. He'd have to look for any records on this Coltrane. Those who came to report on moonshiners were usually running a competing still, and likely the sheriff was in the business as well, though he didn't remember Higgins mentioning Rosco as anything more than an annoyance.

The young agent already knew about the Duke clan. They'd never been caught, but corn whiskey with their trademark stamp, a mule, had been traced as far north as Boone, North Carolina. The only local mark found in a similarly distant range was the hogshead, presumed to belong to one Jefferson Davis Hogg, also never caught.

Yes, Roach knew who the worst offenders were, and he had his plans for catching them, as all his predecessors had failed to do. The only problem with plans is that they have a habit of getting complicated, just as his was…

* * *

"Uh, Jesse?" Luke had found him making sure that the patch on the porch roof had withstood the rain. 

"You were gone quite a while, weren't you, Luke?" Jesse's voice was even; Luke couldn't tell whether his uncle was already angry or not.

"Yes, sir. I had a little trouble with Rosco." Luke offered a lopsided half-smile, hoping his uncle would understand.

"Well, since you were just in town picking up some wire and nails, and I'm sure you wasn't doing nothing illegal, the trouble couldn't be too bad, right?"

Luke looked down for a second before raising his eyes to meet his uncle's deep blue stare. "Well, you know the old truck," Luke took a deep breath, "I guess the taillight was out. So Enos was chasin' me, and Rosco cut me off, and they impounded the pickup." Luke braced himself for the lecture he remembered so well from his teenaged years.

"Well, Luke, if it's impounded, yer just gonna have to take Bo and get it back out. After you help him finish that dog pen, that is. The impound fee is only fifteen dollars, and you can find that in the 'safe' behind the refrigerator."

Luke hid his surprise. "Well, you know, the pickup kind of got dinged up when Enos ran into it."

"Can you drive it?"

"Yeah."

"Then just go and un-impound it, bring it back here and you and Bo can pound those dings out. I assume you two can handle that?"

"Yes, sir." Luke turned so that he could head out to join Bo at work, when Jesse spoke again.

"Luke? We ain't done talking yet."

"Yes, sir?"

"I been watching you, Luke. I ain't said nothing up 'til now, but I think it's time I did. You know, there ain't much we Dukes can count on by way of material things." _Here it comes,_ Luke thought, _the lecture about carelessness and losing the pickup to Rosco_. "But Luke, what we got is each other. Now you been keepin' to yourself lately, an' I ain't missed that." Jesse held up his hands to ward off any comeback that his nephew might have, but for once the boy had nothing to say. "You been to war and I reckon you seen some things you think you can't tell me about. Maybe done some stuff you think I wouldn't approve of. But you gotta remember, your old Uncle Jesse has seen a thing or two himself, so when you're ready to talk about it, I'm here. You know that."

Luke was so surprised at the direction that the conversation had taken that he momentarily forgot to keep his guard up. "Uh, thanks, Jesse, I appreciate that."

"But," as usual, the man who'd raised him had more to say, "I can't have you avoiding your cousins. They love you, they missed you, and they need you to be around them sometimes. And you've got to cut the smart remarks some, too. We ain't your bunkmates, we's your family. You understand me, Luke?"

Any thought of actually talking to his uncle banished, Luke's carefully guarded neutral façade slid back into place as he met his uncle's eyes. "Yes, sir."

Jesse gathered his oldest charge into his arms for the briefest of moments before the young man pulled away.

"I better go find Bo," Luke muttered, leaving his uncle to continue working on the porch.

* * *

The crowd at the Boar's Nest had been particularly unruly all evening, trying Daisy's patience. While she knew that Al, the bartender, was watching her back, everyone else in the place was watching her backside with decreasing subtlety as they ingested more and more alcohol. She was kind of wishing her over-protective cousins would show up, when someone else entered the establishment and banished that thought entirely. 

"Hey, sugar, what can I getcha?" Daisy flashed her winning smile at the young ATF agent who had commandeered the stool at the far end of the bar.

Aside from exchanging drink orders and a few words of idle chit-chat, Andy and Daisy made a point of barely noticing one another. In the fishbowl that was Hazzard, neither could afford to feed the rumor mill. But after the bar had closed and she and Al had balanced the books for the night, Daisy walked out to the parking lot to find Andy in his usual place, casually leaning on her car.

"Sugar, we've got to stop meeting like this," she said.

"Well, sweetheart, you stop looking so pretty, and maybe I won't want to spend my time in dark alleys waiting for you."

Daisy laughed and said, "Aw, you're sweet. But I'm serious. Starting tomorrow my cousins are gonna be picking me up from work, so we can't meet here." She hadn't been thrilled with the arrangement that Luke had proposed, but it really was his car, and besides, Bo had been silently begging her with those big blue eyes of his. She knew, just as the whole family did, that Bo used that particular power of persuasion to his advantage all the time, but with the occasional exception of her uncle, no one could resist that look. So Daisy had given in and wondered how long the carpooling would last, and how she could convince her cousins to drop her off early or pick her up late.

"Well, if it's a ride home that you need, you just tell Bo and Luke that you've got one," the young agent suggested with a wink.

Daisy nearly melted, but then the absurdity hit her. "Sure, when they hear you're bringing me home, they'll be thrilled," she laughed. Sobering, she added, "I can't lie to them."

"Don't, then. Tell them you're getting a ride with the law. Everyone knows Deputy Strate would take you home every night, if you'd let him. And your cousins trust him, right? So they wouldn't worry after you…"

Although she wasn't excited about the deception, Daisy had to admit that it was a plan worthy of her older cousin, and she'd gone along with enough of those. For his part, Agent Roach mentally congratulated himself. Access to the Duke farm late at night was exactly what he needed. And then, almost imperceptibly, he winced. If only he wasn't genuinely crazy about the girl.


	3. A Breeding Ground for Trouble

_Hi all - here's Chapter 3._

_Again, thanks to everyone for reading, and double thanks to those who review. _

_I do not own the Dukes or any of the main charaters, and I am not making any money for this. Andy's half mine, half Warner Bothers, and the extras are just extra._

_With no further adieu..._

* * *

**Chapter 3 – A Breeding Ground for Trouble**

"Yee ha!" Bo screamed without thought to whose eardrums he might be shattering.

For once his older cousin didn't give him a hard time about it, though. He was too busy grinning and saying, "All right, Bo. Next time let up on the accelerator a little sooner though. I'd kinda like to keep my kidneys inside my body."

"Aw, Luke, you're too danged attached to those things," Bo risked and was actually awarded with a chuckle. This was precisely what the young blonde had needed: at home behind the wheel, with his cousin and mentor there to enjoy it with him, cruising through some back roads, but mostly cross-country terrain. The future 'shine runner was proving his mastery of a very important skill – weaving between trees and barreling through shrubs at high speed while keeping the car and its contents intact.

"Hey, cuz? This obstacle course stuff is great and all, but I think I've really got the hang of that. Can't we try getting some air, maybe just a hop?"

Luke laughed outright. "Bo, you ain't done with what you need to be able to do with all the wheels on the ground yet."

"No?"

"Nope. And this is why it's good that Daisy don't need us to pick her up. Starting tonight, you're gonna learn to do all this in the dark."

The youngest cousin had been trying to learn from his dark haired elder some of the finer points of being a man, so he did his best to hide his disappointment and nervousness. "Sounds like fun," he said.

Not fooled, Luke put a hand on his younger cousin's shoulder. "Don't worry, Bo. I'll let you use the headlights the first time."

Bo wondered why he'd thought he missed this kind of teasing.

* * *

Assuming she was not at work, the early afternoon was usually a time that Daisy could count on having to herself, with her cousins and uncle safely out in the fields or busy fishing or "cooking" up at one of the still sites hidden along the small creeks fed by mountain run off. So she was quite startled to be brought out of a daydream by Jesse's voice. 

"Daisy-girl? You with me now?"

"What, Uncle Jesse?" Unlike the boys, she always made sure to use the honorific along with his first name. They were all brought up well, but some lessons had been better learned by the only surviving female in the family.

"I was asking why you's just sittin' here. You feelin' all right? Boss ain't workin' you too hard, is he? You been getting' home awful late." Jesse sat in what would normally be Luke's chair at the kitchen table, across from Daisy, so he could see her face.

"No, Uncle Jesse. I'm fine. I'll just go collect the eggs now, so's we can have some cake after dinner…"

"Now hold on a minute there, girl. Let me just ask you one more question."

"Sure, Uncle Jesse," Daisy sat back down but found that she couldn't meet her uncle's eyes.

"You ain't been takin' advantage of ol' Enos, now have you?"

"Uncle Jesse!" Daisy was so shocked that she forgot to be worried about getting caught stretching the truth about her nightly transportation.

"Now, I don't mean that way. I just mean, that boy's been crazy about you for a long time, an' it ain't right to make him think you're interested in him if you really ain't."

The young woman grinned at the man who had raised her, grateful that she could answer honestly: "Uncle Jesse, you don't have to worry about me leadin' poor Enos on. I can promise you, I ain't doin' that."

"All right then, be sure that you ain't. And Daisy," the old man took a moment to mentally compose what he needed to say next. "I ain't never told you, nor Bo, nor Luke who you can date. Well, other than that boy you's crazy about in the tenth grade that weren't no good. But since you been adults, I ain't never interfered in your love lives. An' I ain't gonna now, but I want you to think about this: if you do decide to date Enos, remember, we's on opposite sides of the law now. He's still a real good boy an' you couldn't find a nicer man, but he's a sworn peace officer now. An' gettin' too close to him could be dangerous. He's the son of a moonshiner an' he already knows a lot about the trade. One slip about a run could lead to him havin' to catch us whether he wants to or not."

"Oh, Uncle Jesse, Enos'd never turn us in to no revenuer. I just know he wouldn't."

"The boy he used to be would never do that, I know. But Enos is a lawman now. Wouldn't be honest if he didn't turn us in. And you have to admit, Enos is about as honest as they get. So… when you're decidin' who to spend your time with, remember that some men is more dangerous than others, and not always for the most obvious reasons."

"Yes, sir, Uncle Jesse." Once again, the young woman found her hands, which were resting on the table top, to be endlessly fascinating. This was not missed by her uncle, who now knew what he had only guessed before: this discussion was somewhat overdue.

Jesse stood and walked around to Daisy's side of the table and, slipping an arm around his niece's shoulder, drew her to him for a long moment. "Now, why don't you go get them eggs. Cake sounds mighty nice."

* * *

The Hazzard Garage was mercifully quiet when Enos made his way there towards the end of his shift. The young deputy was relieved to find the owner's son, Cooter, to be the only one inside. 

"Hey, Enos, what can I do for ya, buddy?"

"Well, I kinda scraped up the side of the car in some sticks out there. I was hoping you could fix it up and maybe not mention it to the Sheriff."

"You got the dime, I got the time, buddy. But you know, ol' Rosco's dinged up a few cars himself. It ain't like you oughta have to hide this from him."

"Thanks, Cooter. It's just that I'm supposed to be helping the Sheriff, not makin' him mad. He's got so much to worry about an' he don't need me messin' up the cars, too."

"This car ain't messed up, not compared to some Rosco's brought in. But I'll fix her for you. I still think you shouldn't have to pay for it yourself, though."

"That's okay, Cooter. I messed it up."

"They treatin' you all right there, Deputy Strate? You seem kinda tensed up."

"Naw, it's okay, Cooter. It's just a lot of responsibility, bein' a deputy. You gotta keep order on the roads and in the town and keep an eye on the Boar's Nest. Plus you gotta look for kids skippin' school, watch for illegal hunting, make sure that no one goes up that old Hatchapee Mine Road…"

"What's wrong with the Hatchapee Mine Road? And why would anyone want to go up there anyway?"

The deputy pushed up his hat to scratch his head. "I don't rightly know, Cooter. It's just one of those things you gotta do. Sheriff's orders."

"Has it occurred to you that Rosco's been a little squirrelly lately?" Cooter asked, wiping greasy hands on greasy shirt, an equal transfer.

"Now, Cooter, you just mind your manners. You ain't got no call to talk that way about an officer of the law. Sheriff Coltrane's got a lot on his mind, so you just remember that before you go sayin' anything else about him."

"okay, Enos, easy now. I didn't mean nothin' by it."

"Aww, that's okay, Cooter. I guess I am kinda tensed up after all."

"Hey, you wanna go out tonight, let loose at the Boar's Nest? I'm buyin'."

Enos didn't really want to, but he found he couldn't turn down the offer. Besides, it might actually help if he could relax for a little while with one of his old friends. Lord knew he was having enough trouble at work, trying to keep his superior officer on an even keel. Thing was, he never could tell what would send Rosco off into a muttering tizzy. If only he could figure that out, maybe he'd actually be able to please his boss.

"Thanks, Cooter. That's mighty nice of you."

* * *

Luke had to admit that he'd had a great deal of fun riding with Bo over the last several days. If his pride had allowed, he might also have admitted that Bo was a much better driver than he'd been at that age, and would probably surpass Luke's own skills someday very soon. Instead, he congratulated himself on his great teaching. 

Though Daisy did not need a ride, the boys had decided to go to the Boar's Nest tonight anyway, to get a drink and relax. Bo had become quite adept at handling the car in blacked out conditions, and this was cause for celebration. Doubly exciting for Bo was the fact that his cousin had agreed that it was time for him to learn how to defy gravity.

Now that they were headed into town, though, the elder Duke boy's mood was souring. It seemed that the more people that were around, the more he felt alone. He could joke with a couple of buddies, he could go out and 'play' with Bo, but in a crowd he found himself feeling that he was amongst people who would never understand him, and to whom he could no longer easily relate. These people he had grown up with and amongst understood him less than some guys he had known only a few months in Vietnam. Luke didn't want to feel this way, but it was how he felt all the same.

The Boar's Nest was a living, breathing organism that night, filled with everyone and anyone in town that needed an outlet. In other words, it was a breeding ground for trouble and the Duke boys weren't exactly a calming influence.

The first people that the cousins spied were Cooter and Enos, who had apparently gotten there early enough to snag a small table. Responding to the mechanic's wave, the boys quickly decided that their only chance of actually sitting that night lay with joining their friend at his table.

Daisy was so busy sidestepping all the various hands that reached for her that at first she didn't see her cousins in the crowd. When she did spot them, she made her way to them, hoping they planned a short stay, and that they wouldn't get into a conversation with Enos about her transportation arrangements.

"Hey, y'all, what'll it be?"

Before anyone else could speak up, an expansive Cooter ordered beers all around. Enos changed his order to coffee, having already had one beer, his limit. He'd grown up sipping 'shine like everyone else at the table, but now that he was a deputy, he considered himself always on call with a need to be alert at all times.

Daisy hurried to fulfill their order, wanting to keep an ear on conversation at the table. So far it didn't look like anything much was going on, since Bo was making eyes at any girl who'd look his way, and Luke seemed to be somewhere else entirely, but Daisy had to be sure. If the wrong topic came up, she wanted to be around to ask Enos to dance or something before he spilled the beans.

Daisy was still lingering around the boys' table when one of unsavory characters who was somewhat less than sober began demanding a refreshed drink. When the barmaid's attention was a little slow in coming his way, the rowdy patron made a grab for her, resulting in a slip that brought them both crashing to the ground.

Up in a flash, Bo grabbed the offender by the arms, pulling him upright to provide his fist a better angle at the man's face. Luke helped Daisy to her feet without ever taking his eyes off his blonde cousin.

"Bo…" he shouted, trying to prevent the inevitable. Before the name was entirely out of his mouth, Luke found himself grabbing his petite cousin around her waist and lifting her out of the way of a flying drunk man, the result of a collision with his other cousin's fist. A lot of things happened at once: Daisy screaming Bo's name, a blur coming from Luke's right, Cooter jumping up and planting his feet for a swing, and a sudden crunching sound. Before he could sort out all of the stimulus, Luke's eye caught Bo's face, now smeared with blood. There was a whooshing in his ears as he instinctively sought his weapon, without success. How had he been caught so unprepared? No time to think about that, he had to take his opponents in hand to hand combat, and doing so would require all of his concentration.

With a scream designed to stop his enemy cold, Luke jumped on the first combatant and began to wrench his neck to the left. Someone grabbed him from behind, but Luke slammed his elbow into the opposition's ribcage, and returned his attention to dispatching his first enemy, this time with a fist. Eyes narrowed, the Marine grabbed hold of the next adversary, reaching again for the neck. He was aware of someone trying to get his attention, but willed himself to concentrate on the task in front of him, disallowing any distractions. He succeeded, too, until he realized that the sound was coming from quite near his ear, was very frightened, and was his cousin, Bo, calling his name.

As Luke finally let his attention be diverted, a percussive sound rang out that brought everyone down to the floor. Enos was the first one up, and joined his boss in the corner where he'd stood, undetected, until that time.

"All right you Dukes, you Winter boys and you, Cooter Davenport and Joey Byrne, you're all under arrest. I mean it now."

Pandemonium broke out as everyone began pleading their case. However, what caught the Sheriff's ear, even though it was not very loud, was a cough from behind. Rosco turned to see Commissioner Hogg standing in the doorway between the main barroom and the back room that had been commandeered as the Boss's office. With an almost imperceptible head shake, Rosco's brother-in-law made his wishes clear.

Aiming his gun at the ceiling once again, Sheriff Coltrane threatened to fire off another round. Everyone cringed, holding their ears, and silence fell in the roadhouse.

"All right. Now, I'm gonna let you off with a warning this time. Ijit, but next time I'm gonna cuff ya and stuff ya, and then I'm gonna march ya all over to the county building and I'm gonna put ya under the jail and lose the key and yer all gonna stay there, so just you watch what yer doin', ijit, or I'll do it, I mean it now. What a mess. Yer all gonna have to clean up this mess or I'm gonna fine ya, and then I'll cuff ya and stuff ya… what a horrendous brawl. Would have killed ten ordinary sheriffs, I'm telling ya…"

As Rosco wound down, the Boar's Nest remained silent. Even Bo Duke found he couldn't argue with that kind of logic. Somehow chastised, the patrons did, indeed, start to pick up some of what had hit the floor. The Sheriff curtly instructed his deputy to keep an eye on things and stormed out the door.

Bo, meanwhile, did a quick accounting for the whereabouts of his kin. Daisy was easy to spot, in the middle of the clean up crew. Luke took a little longer to locate, still keeping low, watching the crowd with wary eyes.

"Luke?" Bo shivered slightly at the intensity of the look his cousin gave him. "You okay?"

"Yeah, Bo, I'm fine. But you're not. Let me see your face." Bo complied long enough for Luke to realize that the offending blood was only from a split lip. He held his handkerchief to the cut for a few seconds until he was satisfied that his cousin was in no real danger. "Let's just call it an early night and head home, huh? I'm pretty tired. And you could use some ice."

The boys helped right the table they'd been sharing with their friends, then said their goodbyes, after being assured by Daisy that she'd be able to get home just fine. Bo was concerned that Enos might not be able to get away from the bar to drive her to the farm, but Daisy shooed both her cousins out the door, insisting that she had alternatives if she needed them. For once, both boys were too preoccupied to wonder what those alternatives might be, and just how safe their cousin really was.

Sitting in his cruiser in a dark corner of the lot, Rosco Coltrane watched the Duke boys get into their car. They weren't really bad boys, but they had a way of getting under the sheriff's skin with their sassy attitudes. And tonight he'd had every reason to let them cool their heels in jail overnight, if not for the recent change in the balance of power in Hazzard. Now they were getting into that powerful Plymouth, likely to break a few vehicular laws on their way home, but he didn't even bother to follow them, since he couldn't enforce any charges he might make. Rosco was livid, but there was nothing he could do, at least not for now.

Inside the bar, in the dingy corner by the payphone, Andy Roach also watched the boys leave. They were good scrappers, better than he'd realized. He'd have to remember that, if it ever came down to it. They were the kind that you needed to get the handcuffs on immediately, and search the car for the contraband later. In the meantime, Andy realized, he'd still get a chance to spend some time with Daisy that night. By mutual agreement he'd been dropping her off a slight distance from the house, with headlights out, so as not to tip off her family about who was bringing her home. After watching her make her way to the farmhouse and inside, the agent generally continued surveillance for some time. So far he hadn't learned much, but he could be a patient man.

* * *

"Luke?" 

"Yeah, Bo."

"Are you really all right?"

"Yeah, Bo."

"You sure?" Bo winced at the bright blue fury that turned his direction for a split second before Luke's concentration returned to his driving. But Bo couldn't keep quiet. "You kinda scared me there, cousin. I ain't never seen you go after nobody like you did them Winter brothers tonight. You could've really hurt them."

_Killed them_, Luke thought, sighing. He wasn't angry at Bo, wasn't even frustrated. He'd scared himself, so he understood.

"Yeah, Bo. I'm okay." For a moment Luke fought with his normally reserved personality, but then decided that this was a time that he needed to say something he otherwise wouldn't. "Bo, I love you, you know that. An' there's no one I trust more than you, but I don't wanna talk about this anymore, all right?"

Bo stared out the window at the darkness around them. "Yeah, okay."

* * *

Luke had volunteered to run off another batch of moonshine on his own. There was no reason it couldn't be a one man job, and Luke's sacrifice made it possible for two men to stay behind and work the property. Bo knew, however, that it was not out of the goodness of his heart that Luke had offered to do a solo shift at the still. His older cousin was avoiding him, and he was sure it was largely because of what had happened at the Boar's Nest the night before. 

Once the heavy work had been done, Jesse and his young nephew walked the cornfield together, making sure there were no parasites or other pests infesting the crop. Bo took advantage of this relatively quiet time alone with his uncle to bring up a subject that had been on his mind for some time.

"Uncle Jesse, what's going on with Luke?"

"What do you mean by that Bo?" Jesse wasn't prying into the boys' private business; his question was asked only for the purpose of determining which of his older nephew's behaviors had bothered the boy.

"I don't know, he just, he ain't the same as he was before, you know?"

The older man nodded, and was quiet for a minute. Then he cocked his head to the side and asked, "What would you want him to be the same as?"

"I don't know, like when we was kids, he wasn't so quiet, and didn't go off by himself so much. We did mostly everything together."

Jesse nodded again. "Well, Bo, I know we've talked about some of this before, that men who experience war do come back different. In my generation they was just glad to be back, alive, and have a chance to start a life. Seems like this generation comes back to a lot less hope. Some of it is the way other folks treat them, and some of it is maybe wondering whether they shoulda been there in the first place. My generation didn't have that question as much."

"Yeah, Uncle Jesse we did talk about all that. But now Luke's back and he's different and it's not the same as just talking about it, or talking about some old guys that you once knew. It's _Luke_, my best friend, the closest thing I got to a brother, and he's shutting me out." Bo hated the plaintive tone that had crept into his voice, but he seemed powerless to make it stop. He looked out over the fields so his uncle wouldn't see the childish tears that insisted on coming to his eyes.

With his usual patience, the man who had raised Bo chose to ignore his nephew's impetuosity for now. He could remind him to respect his elders later, and because it was his youngest charge, he'd be genuinely sorry for what he'd said. Bo might be quick to shoot off his mouth, but he was just as quick to make amends.

"Let me ask you this, Bo. Are you the same as you were when Luke left?"

"Well, yeah."

"Really? You mean playin' football, makin' new friends in school, fightin' with the ones who said somethin' nasty about your cousin, an' standin' on your own two feet ain't changed you at all?" Jesse chuckled at Bo's raised eyebrows. "Didn't think I knew about the fights, huh? There ain't a move you made that I wasn't watchin'."

"Maybe I changed some, but not so much. I still want to be close to my family." Bo jutted his chin, both in the continued fight against tears, but also with the sense that he was on the right side of this difference with his cousin. Jesse had always stressed the importance of family amongst the children in his care. After all, they had to work extra hard to build the loyalty they had, since unlike real siblings, they'd been brought abruptly together under one roof as children.

"Now, Bo, Luke still wants to be close to his family. If he didn't, he wouldn't be here at all. He's a man who has survived some pretty rough conditions, and he could easily set up his own home, move out of Hazzard altogether if he wanted to. The only reason he hasn't is because he still wants to be here, with you, with all of us. He's just figuring out how to do it is all. Just like you're trying to figure out how to be around all of us now that you're a man. You give him time and a good reason, and Luke'll come around. And when he does, you're the one he'll turn to. Remember, you're the closest thing he's got to a brother, too."

With a wink, Jesse left his youngest child to think about what he'd said.

* * *


	4. Gators Can't Fly

_Author's notes - Well, I've been fighting with the document manager, but I finally decided to get over it and just post anyway, so here's chapter 4._

_As always, thanks for reading, and for those who have reviewed, double thanks. It makes worthwhile those moments when the boys won't do what I tell them to do and Rosco refuses to play along and I'm pulling out my hair._

_I don't own the Dukes of Hazzard or any of the main characters, and there's no money to be made for what I've put them through. Andy's half mine, half Warner Brothers'._

* * *

**Chapter 4 – Gators Can't Fly**

For a change, Daisy was grateful to have the early shift at work. Usually she preferred the better tips the nights provided, not to mention the fact that those early days were hard to face after pulling a late shift the night before. Then there was the fact that when she worked the lunch through dinner hours, there was no way around having Bo and Luke pick her up. She couldn't chance being spotted in Andy Roach's car, and during the evening twilight, they would surely be seen and recognized by someone. She usually had to pull one early shift sometime during her week, though, and she always dreaded it.

But after last night's brawl, Daisy was pretty relieved to be facing the extremely tame lunch "crowd" which usually consisted of Cooter, Enos, Boss, Rosco and a those few others who worked in town but could get away long enough to eat out. In other words, these were either friends or people she didn't have to watch her back around. She felt awfully bad about what had happened last night. If she'd moved faster to serve the rowdy group, she could have avoided the whole mess. Instead, by the end of the night, both of her cousins had looked pretty miserable, Enos had been forced back on duty, Cooter had actually left before closing time, and she and Al had both worked well into the night to put the place back together. After all that, she hadn't been much company to Andy on the way home, either.

"_What's the matter, sweetheart?" Andy had asked when she got into the car without her usual good cheer._

"_You were there, weren't you? You saw that mess."_

"_Yeah, and it's nothing I haven't seen before. It's not a normal week around here if you don't see at least one of those."_

"_But this one was my fault. Paul Winter was trying to get my attention and I was too busy making sure that my cousins didn't find out that Enos wasn't the one driving me home. If I hadn't been paying more attention to them than my job, it wouldn't have happened."_

"_Now, that's not true. Those Winter boys were lookin' for a fight all night. Bo just helped 'em out. And he didn't seem to mind doin' it, either."_

"_No, Bo don't mind a good fight, or even a split lip. But he shouldn'ta had to be fightin' to protect me. Especially since I've been lyin' to him."_

"_You ain't really lyin', just lettin' them come to their own conclusions. And it's for a good cause, right?"_

"_Is it?"_

"_What better cause is there than love?"_

Love. Did Andy love her, and did she love him? What, exactly constituted love, anyway? There was no question that she loved Uncle Jesse, Bo and Luke, and had loved her Aunt Lavinia before she'd passed on some years back. She would do anything for any member of her adoptive family. Her mother had died when she was born, her father when she was too young to remember. She supposed she probably loved them, too, though that was harder to define. Could you really love someone you'd never gotten the chance to know? Then there were friends like Cooter, who she cared deeply about, and she supposed that equaled love. It wasn't as fierce a thing as loving her family, but she would go out of her way for Cooter, and she definitely wanted him to be happy and healthy.

This thing with Andy, though, was totally different. It wasn't just that Daisy would do anything for him, but also what doing anything for him seemed to mean. Here she was, misleading her family about him, something she never thought she'd do. In the beginning it hadn't seemed like such a problem, but it was quickly becoming one. First there were the consequences of last night's fight. This morning when her cousins had emerged from their room for the pre-breakfast chores, Bo had looked terrible with a very fat lip and bruised cheek. Luke had appeared physically normal, but was nearly silent. Neither of the boys seemed particularly happy, nor were they speaking to one another in more than monosyllables. The only good thing about it was that at least neither of them had asked her how she got home.

Aside from the brawl itself, though, there was the fact that Daisy couldn't see where this relationship with Andy could go. She could keep a couple of rides home a secret, but how could she hide a serious relationship from her family? And if Andy was using the word love, wasn't this relationship serious?

With a wince, Daisy remembered her conversation with her uncle, which had been about Enos, but certainly fit this situation with Andy as well. She couldn't possibly have a serious relationship with someone who might have to turn her family in for conducting its business. Could she?

Choosing between her family and the one man she felt more strongly for than any other she'd ever met was not something Daisy wanted to do at that moment. Putting off the more difficult decision, she instead determined that she could only continue to see Andy so long as he never asked anything about the family business. If she could compartmentalize her life, maybe she could manage the separate pieces.

Daisy had never been so grateful for an interruption of her thoughts as she was when Enos walked in to make the first lunch order of the day. As the new deputy, Enos got the worst assignments, more than his share of K.P. duty, and the last choice of break times. No one wanted the 11:00 AM lunch break, since it meant going through a very long remainder of the day without another bite to eat. Enos, however, cheerfully accepted his place at the bottom of the totem pole. After all, he was working in his field of choice, and he mostly didn't care if that meant mopping the floors and starving through the afternoon.

"Hey sugar, what can I get you?"

Enos nearly fainted when the barmaid aimed that beautiful smile in his direction. He'd been losing his balance in the presence of Daisy Duke for about a decade now, sometimes with comical, sometimes quite dangerous consequences. Still, Enos figured that if he was going to wind up in the hospital at some point it wouldn't be so bad, so long as the cause was having spent too much time in the company of his favorite girl. Turning distinctly purple, Enos looked down at the bar and said, "Just the usual Daisy," before lifting his head just enough to get a shy glance at her face.

"All right, you just sit right down there and tell me about your day while I get it, sugar."

While she fixed his tomato sandwich and sweet tea, Enos said, "Shoot, there ain't much to tell, Daisy. Just the usual patrol and keepin' an eye out for trouble. What about you? Are you all right after last night?"

"Of course I am. I can take care of myself in a fight."

"Well, I know you can, Daisy. What about the boys? Are Bo and Luke okay?"

"They're fine, Enos. Well, Bo looks a little like he went up against a truck and lost, but he's all right. It ain't even enough to keep him from his chores."

"That's good Daisy, cause I know you all can't keep the farm runnin' as well without both them boys workin' hard."

Daisy took a close look at Enos. Despite the fact that she'd known and trusted him all her life, she found herself wondering if this was just the usual asking-after-the-family that folks in Hazzard always made a point to do, or whether Enos could have an ulterior motive. She wouldn't have thought it possible, except for that conversation with Uncle Jesse. Daisy handed Enos his lunch then made a point of busying herself behind the bar.

Enos, for his part, noticed a slight change in Daisy's demeanor, but wasn't quite sure what he'd done wrong. In case it was his words, the deputy decided not to talk about her cousins any more. "What time did you finally get out of here last night, Daisy?"

"Oh, real late Enos. I don't even know." She remained guarded, this time wondering whether the conversation would lead to exactly how she got home. Daisy decided to take the reins in the discussion. "It helped that Rosco made everyone help us at first. Wasn't he funny last night? I ain't never heard him sound quite that crazy," her eyes danced as she laughed about it.

Despite the intense pleasure he felt in listening to Daisy's giggles, Enos found that he had to put his foot down. "Now Daisy, the Sheriff has a lot to worry about. You ought to show him more respect."

Daisy didn't completely catch the change in Enos' mood. She pressed on, "I don't know Enos. What's been happening down there at the Sheriff's station that would make a man stammer like that?"

Enos stood and said, "You know I can't tell you what goes on in the Sheriff's office. That's official police business and I can't talk to a civilian about it."

Daisy was completely taken aback. This was coming from the boy who'd sat next to her in math and laughed at every silly or snide comment she'd ever made, even if it got him in trouble with the teacher? "Well, okay Enos, it's all right sugar. I was just kiddin', that's all."

"Well you can't go kiddin' about the law Daisy. That just ain't right. I got to go now."

"Now Enos, honey, you didn't finish your lunch. I won't joke about anything, I promise, just eat your sandwich."

"No, I'm sorry, Daisy, I got to get back to work now. I'll see you later, though." Enos practically ran back to the safety of his patrol car. Life was much easier in there.

* * *

Jesse Duke watched his boys through a mostly silent dinner. Both seemed unusually interested in the patterns on the plates in front of them. As soon as he reasonably could, Bo excused himself and headed off to the barn, ostensibly to check on the new hound dog pups, but Jesse thought it was just to escape the unbearable quiet. 

"Luke?"

"Yeah, Uncle Jesse?"

"You all right?"

"Yes, sir."

"There's nothing you want to talk about?"

"No."

"Then you can go on back up to the still. It's probably about time to drain off the backings."

Relieved, Luke got up to go.

"And Luke, take Bo with you."

Luke considered protesting, but one look at Jesse's face and he thought better.

"Yes, sir."

* * *

By the next day, the boys were back to their old selves, or at least as close as they had been during the last couple of months. When it became clear to Luke that Bo actually planned to drop the subject of his behavior at the Boar's Nest, he relaxed and worked easily beside his cousin, just as they always had. Together they ran off a batch of whiskey, then stored it away at the still site. Because there were two of them and they knew each other's next move before it was even made, they finished early enough to go home and get some sleep before rising for the next morning's chores. Seeing them working so well together, Jesse felt quite justified in setting them free for the afternoon. 

Having taken Daisy to work, they were out in the car again, preparing for Bo's first intentional hop. He'd gotten some air a few times when he was moving quickly over uneven ground, but this was to be more of a planned, controlled jump.

"Okay, now remember, the landing is the most important part. You can jump fifty feet and it won't amount to a hill of beans if you beach yourself on a rock. So while you're approaching your takeoff point, spot the place you want to land." Luke had to pause to laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"The look on your face. You're so serious. Did you ever look at any of your teachers this way?"

"Of course not. That was school. This is something important."

Chuckling, Luke continued his instructions. Eventually Bo decided that as fascinating as the lecture was, the lab part of this class had to be more fun, so he prodded Luke to let him make the jump. They lined the car up about a thousand feet from a natural ramp at the edge of a narrow, dry creek bed. Luke had chosen the area because the opposite bank was grassy and would likely provide a safe landing no matter how Bo took off.

"One last thing, Bo. Once you decide to jump, you have to commit yourself to it. If you try to pull up, you'll hang the car off the ramp and damage the undercarriage. If you try to swerve out of it late, you could hit a tree or boulder. So once you decide to jump, you have to see it through. Line it up, get up to speed, steady, then give it your all. All right?"

"Got it."

"Go for it, Bo."

Bo was nervous, but he really wanted to do this, more than he had wanted anything in his life, well, other than having spent those three years wanting Luke home, safe. Looking over at his cousin, who was trusting him not only with the car, but also his own safety, Bo committed. Kicking up the loose dirt as he stepped on the accelerator, Bo focused his eyes on the ramp in front, then the grassy area upon which he intended to land. The car felt almost like an extension of his own body, and he used his instincts more than his gauges to tell him whether he'd gotten enough speed. He could vaguely hear his cousin encouraging him, and that, along with the sound of the powerful car's engine, filled his ears with all the information he needed. Just before the ramp disappeared beneath the nose of the car, Bo gave the accelerator an extra shove, and then they were flying, both letting out a rebel yell to express their pleasure.

Too soon for Bo's tastes, the car thumped to the ground, and Bo brought it to a skidding stop. Luke got out to find the impression where they had landed and gave a low whistle.

"Bo, come here."

"What, Luke?" Bo was almost afraid that Luke had found some important part to the car lying in the dirt, sheared by the landing. Instead, Luke just seemed to be pointing to a depression in the grass.

"That's where you landed."

"Right, that's where I planned to land."

"Bo, do you know how far you jumped?"

"Not really." Bo sensed a math problem, and tried to figure out how to get out of having to do the calculation. He was surprised when Luke said, "Neither do I, exactly, but it's at least twice as far as I thought you'd get. Bo, that was amazing!"

Here came the grin that Luke had missed so much while he'd been away, and had hardly seen since getting back, either.

"It was, wasn't it?"

Luke was tempted to say something sarcastic about Bo's swelled head, but he couldn't stand to see that smile fade even a little bit, so instead he threw his arms around his little cousin and said, "Yeah, it was perfect, Bo." Bo hid his surprise at Luke's unusual display of affection, and just hugged him back. The teenager hadn't been this happy in more than three years.

* * *

Luke wasn't the only one that was amazed by Bo's feat. Andy Roach had followed the boys at a safe distance after they dropped Daisy at the Boar's Nest. He hadn't exactly expected them to lead him to a still site at this time of day. Besides, he knew they were probably smart enough to watch their tails if they were headed someplace like that, and he didn't doubt that they could shake him if they spotted him. Still, he needed to get a better grip on their schedule if he was going to catch them making a run. He didn't have the heart to use his original plan, which was to somehow trick Daisy into telling him something useful. So he would have to tail the boys and their uncle until they accidentally gave something away. 

After leaving town, the yellow Plymouth seemed to be headed nowhere except for a joy ride. The agent had watched as young Bo Duke took the car through a series of turns, spins and skids that mostly spoke of two boys tearing up the Hazzard County dirt for no other reason than the pleasure of it. He was just losing interest in the surveillance when the car stopped and sat still for a long time. Andy hid his car in the tree line on a hill overlooking a field that was divided by an old stream bed, and watched the boys' car for its next move. He pulled out his binoculars to try to determine what they were doing in there. It wouldn't be the first time he'd seen a moonshiner's sons enjoying some of their wares during daylight hours, but usually it would be in a more comfortable and secluded spot than the Duke boys had chosen to sit. And from what he could tell, they didn't seem to have any bottles in the car, at least none in sight. No, they just seemed to be talking. Funny, he'd never noticed either one to be a real conversationalist before.

Intrigued, Andy decided to see his covert operation through to some kind of conclusion. He watched as Luke seemed to make a lot of hand gestures, and Bo hung on his every move. He saw a look pass between the boys, then quickly pulled the binoculars back from his face as the car suddenly vaulted forward. To his amazement, he watched as the younger Duke boy aimed the car straight for the dried up creek. Since he was not a lifetime resident of Hazzard, he did not know the width or depth of the trench that the water had left behind when it abandoned this field, but he did know that it would likely wreck a car and possibly seriously injure the occupants. Was he watching some kind of a suicide pact?

The agent couldn't help but look away as the car rushed the last few feet towards its destruction. He wondered how he would tell Daisy that he had happened to see the whole thing, and whether he could even try to explain the boys' actions. His eyes were closed but his ears were on full alert to tell him when it was all over. He heard an impact, but was surprised that it was more of a thud than a crash. He carefully squinted his eyes back open, mentally preparing himself for carnage. He saw nothing at all.

"Bo, come here."

Andy raised his eyes from the trench itself to the area from which he'd heard the voice. There stood Luke Duke, in apparently perfect health. His cousin Bo was walking towards him. Maybe a hundred feet away from the boys, the Plymouth sat, still idling, and in good condition. The agent could see the area of flattened grass where the car had landed, and between that spot and the car were surprisingly short streaks where the grass had been torn up in a skid. A controlled skid, judging by the straightness of the line.

"He just jumped that creek," the agent muttered to himself, "and he could have jumped one three times the width." Andy shook his head. He would have to be sure, should he find himself chasing them, that the Duke boys did not have access to a creek, gully or ditch. If they did, he'd never catch them. They'd be in one piece on the other side, while he was plummeting to the bottom.

This was going to be a challenge. Despite how he felt about their cousin, Andy couldn't resist the opportunity to chase and catch the Duke boys.

* * *

"You shoulda seen it, Cooter!" Bo couldn't contain himself. "After that first jump we went back the other way, and it was even better. Luke and me are gonna find a good place to jump Bowman's Creek tomorrow." 

"Bowman's Creek? You sure you want to do that Bo? You miss the landing and the gators'll get ya."

"Gators can't fly, Cooter. They ain't gonna touch me."

Cooter turned to Luke, "You ever think about getting him some help for that pitifully small ego he's got there?"

Luke snickered, Bo sighed. "Funny, Cooter," he said. But his mood was not dampened in the least.

"You just be sure and use those moves on Rosco. I want to see his face when you jump a creek and suddenly he's in the water!"

"You want to see the color of his money when he has to call you to pull him out," Luke corrected.

"That too," Cooter agreed. "Hey, have y'all noticed that ol' Rosco's been a little strange lately?"

"A little!" Bo grinned. "He's always been a little tweaked in the head. But did you hear him the other night at the Boar's Nest? Do you have any idea what he was going on about?"

Luke blanched a little at the mention of the night at the Boar's Nest. He busied himself puttering around Cooter's father's garage, letting Bo and Cooter continue the conversation without him. He was not happy with the battle mode he'd slipped into, but even worse was that he'd done it here, in Hazzard, in front of his two younger cousins. He wanted nothing more than to keep that kind of violence out of their lives. There were things he never wanted them to have to experience.

Luke was brought back to the here and now by the mention of Hatchapee Mine Road. "What about that old road?"

"I was just sayin' that Rosco has Enos watchin' that road for traffic for some reason. I think maybe Rosco's Mama washed his hat and now it's all shrunk up and squeezin' his brain."

"Now why would Rosco care about who goes out that way? And who would bother?" an incredulous Bo asked.

"My point exactly."

Cooter and Bo watched as Luke's face took on that faraway look again, the one they'd been seeing from time to time ever since he got back. But instead of looking hard and cold, his eyes twinkled and a smirk played at his lips.

"Feel up to a little hike, guys?"

"Well, I sure want to be along on whatever adventure you've got planned Lukas, but I can't get take any daylight time away from the garage for a couple of days. My old man would kill me." Cooter didn't necessarily like working for his father, but mechanics was in his blood, and in Hazzard that left him only one place to work – The Hazzard Garage, owned by Jerome Davenport. Cooter knew he'd inherit the garage someday, something he both looked forward to and dreaded. He hoped it would be a few years at least. He wasn't ready to be tied down just yet.

"We definitely want you along, Cooter. Three is better than two when you don't know what you're about to put your foot in. It can wait a couple of days. Whatever Sheriff Rosco's got going on up there, it'll keep a little longer."

Cooter chuckled, "Can't wait to see what it is."

"Me neither," Bo said with a huge grin, both because he was looking forward to the upcoming adventure and because Luke was waving him over to Daisy's car so they could go out and fly some more.


	5. It Ain't Gonna Happen

_Author's notes: OK, thanks to Beej96, I am now concerned that someone might think I know **anything** about jumping cars safely. I don't, I made it up. Whatever you do, don't try anything I write about at home. Or on the street. Or over a creek. I have been known to 'get air' now and again, but not on purpose, and not without immediate regret._

_Thanks to those who read, double thanks to those who review, and triple thanks to those who review and give me a heads up that I might be sending someone off the edge of a cliff with my car jumping instructions._

_I'm still fighting with the document manager, and still using O's to convey breaks. Not my preferred method, but I have to give the perfectionist side of me a rest (right, HH?) and get on with posting._

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Dukes or any of the main characters. Andy's a hybrid - he runs on gas and (hot) air..._

* * *

**Chapter 5 – It Ain't Gonna Happen**

Sheriff Coltrane was between a rock and a hard place. At the one side, he had Boss Hogg, making him sweat out every expense of his campaign. On the other was this rookie of an ATF agent, who seemed to be dragging his federal feet when it came to doing his sworn duty. And over his head hung the election itself, which, for once, he could actually lose. If he had any alternatives, Rosco might have welcomed a sound trouncing at the polls, which would at least get him out of this fix he was in. But, with only five more years to go before he'd be eligible for his pension, and no other trade with which to support himself, the sheriff couldn't afford to lose his job.

So he was forced to go up the steps of the county office building and try to get that lousy Andy Roach to do what the good government of the USA had hired him to do. Rosco'd have to stop treating this kid like a peer and instead go in and really menace him. The sheriff hated to do it, but the whipper-snapper had asked for it.

Hands at the ready to grab for his gun (well, it worked on suspects, why not rookie agents?), legs slightly apart, shoulders back and head held high, the sheriff swaggered into the ATF branch office.

"Now listen here, Agent Roach…"

"I'm sorry, Sheriff Coltrane, could you come back later? I'm rather busy right now." Andy was just working on his monthly reports, which could wait, but he couldn't resist the opportunity to rile the sheriff. He'd seen Rosco babbling at the Boar's Nest the other night and wanted his own private show.

"Gij, gyu, no, I couldn't come back later. I'm an important man! I'm the sheriff!"

Perfectly reasonably, Andy replied, "All right, Sheriff, what can I do for you?"

"Gyu, now that's better. I want to know what you've been doing about that Duke family. They're out there makin' 'shine and you're up here bein' 'busy.' Ijit."

"Now, Sheriff, you know I can't divulge department information to the local authorities without written instructions to do so. You'll need to call Atlanta and request an official report." Andy casually rose to his feet and walked up alongside Rosco, putting an arm around him companionably.

"Ijit! You're just… you're obstructin' justice is what you're doin'. Gitcher hands… now quit that."

Andy had been leading the sheriff to the door, but now he stopped and presented Rosco with completely innocent wide eyes. "What, Sheriff? I was just taking you to the lobby where there's a payphone. You can call Atlanta from there, and ask for Agent Higgins. He'll remember you, and expedite your request so you get your report in oh, two or three months."

"Two or three… gyu, now you listen! I'm the sheriff here and I got a right to know what you're doin' gij, to stop the law-breakin' in my county!"

"Of course you do, Sheriff. And I'm sure you'll find the office in Atlanta to be very helpful, when you call them." Andy smiled as he finally brought Rosco to the door. "Now you have a good day, Sheriff. Oh, and let me know if you catch those Duke boys. Seems to me they've been doing a lot of speeding lately, and I assume that the right place to report that to is the Sheriff's Department? So consider this an official complaint. Those Duke boys are a menace on the road, and I expect the duly elected sheriff to put a stop to it. Good-bye, Sheriff," Andy finished, helping the man into the hallway and closing the glass door behind him. The agent watched as Rosco stalked down the hall, pausing to cock his head once or twice.

"Tellin' me who's doin' what and he's not even… catch those Duke boys, I'll show him, ijit, he'll wish he'd never… they'll be, I'll just…" Rosco turned the corner and was gone.

The young agent was slightly remorseful. He probably shouldn't have done that, considering he was likely to need the sheriff's assistance when the time came to actually catch the Duke boys in the act.

* * *

Jesse Duke placed the ignition key for Black Tilly on the table in front of Luke.

Understanding the tacit assignment Luke asked, "Where to?"

"Old Silas."

Luke sighed. Silas was one of his least favorite deliveries. It meant a several hour trip up into some of the wilds of Tennessee, where there wasn't even a radio reception to speak of. Silas himself was older than Jesse, usually sloshed, and always talkative. Before he'd give you what he owed for the liquor, he'd keep you around for another couple of hours, chatting. He was one of the family's most regular customers, though, as the distributor for the entire southeast Tennessee area, and paid top dollar.

"Can I take Bo with me?"

Jesse's eyes twinkled. "I think that would be a good idea. You be careful, though, and watch after your cousin. And Luke? I don't want him drivin' yet. You drive this one, then sit shotgun with him on the next one, you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"And stay off the roads in Hazzard. We don't know this new Roach guy. Watch yourself in Chickasaw, too."

Luke smiled. "You got it."

* * *

If she hadn't known that the boys would be off on a 'shine run that night, Daisy would have had them come get her after work. She was still torn about Andy Roach, and found that spending time with him was a form of torture, sometimes sweet, but increasingly just uncomfortable. She glanced down the bar where Andy had taken his usual place at the end.

Enos was also there, sitting with Cooter towards the back. He and Daisy had exchanged awkward greetings and she'd taken his order, but that was about it. Enos hated that it had come to this, but his job was the most important thing. He still hoped to wind up with Daisy some day, but could never ask her to betroth herself to an unemployed man. His romantic future would have to wait until his financial future was secured.

Daisy scanned the rest of the crowd, which was relatively tame. Tonight would be an early closing, she could tell. None of their regular late night patrons were there, nor were likely to show up, since they hadn't already. The mill had paid last week, and with its two week pay schedule, that meant most people were eating a lot of free popcorn and drinking comparatively little watered down liquor.

"Terrific," she whispered to no one in particular. A bad night for tips, and soon she'd be alone with the man she was becoming more and more sure that she would have to break up with, though she didn't want to.

* * *

"Careful, Bo."

"I am being careful." He and Luke had been enjoying the game they'd nearly perfected as kids, wherein Bo would flip a bottle over his shoulder, end over end, and Luke would catch it easily before stashing it in a padded compartment along the inside of the car's trunk. Tonight's game was enhanced by the darkness; as kids they'd always done it in daylight. Bo had been slightly off in his aim with that last bottle, but Luke had caught it easily enough, and there was no damage. Sometimes Bo wondered whether it was the Marine training, the war itself, or just his own nature that had turned Luke into such an old man before his time. Not so very long ago, Luke would have relished the sport of catching one of Bo's misthrows. "It's fine, Luke."

"Only because you got lucky. Just watch what you're doing, all right?"

Bo was glad to be going on this run with Luke. He'd been on a couple with Jesse, but so far any that Luke had taken since he'd gotten back were solo runs. Bo was going to make it a point not to annoy his older cousin tonight, so he bit his tongue and watched what he was doing. Soon enough they had loaded the car, both with the 'shine and themselves. Bo had asked to drive and gotten laughed at.

"Next time, maybe. This time you just watch and learn, little cousin," Luke had said with a smirk, knowing Bo resented what had once been a fond nickname, but was now not only something of a putdown, but totally inappropriate. Bo chose to be a good sport about it.

Before long, they were rolling, blacked out, along a trail that Jesse had cut decades before. This was a widened deer path, parallel to Upper Ridge Road, generally protected from view by the brush that grew on either side. There were only a few parts of it that could be spotted from the road to the south, and Luke would have to pay careful attention through those areas. Otherwise, at this time of night, they could expect an uneventful trip, at least until they had to hit the roads of Chickasaw. The only other thing to be mindful of was the full moon, which could reveal even a black matte car like Tilly.

"Sure is quiet out here at night, ain't it?" Bo asked conversationally.

"You know what they used to say about that in the Corps?"

Bo was surprised that Luke was bringing up his time in the Marines, since he'd been so reluctant to talk about it much after returning to Hazzard. "What?"

"'At least if he's making noise, you know where your enemy is. It's when he's quiet that you need to watch your… tail.'" Here in Hazzard, even outside of the presence of his uncle, Luke automatically softened the actual phrase.

"Well, we're both watchin' so we'll be okay." Seeing as how his cousin seemed to be in the right mood now, Bo took a risk, "Was it scary over there, at night?"

"Yeah, cuz, it was." Luke was quiet for awhile, but Bo didn't press him. His older cousin has always been one to say something only when he really wanted to, and that characteristic had certainly become stronger in the past three years. "Not every night, but when you were out on a mission, for sure. You never knew… the enemy had the home territory advantage, so you never knew which direction they could come at ya from…"

The interior of the car was suddenly bright, causing Luke to swerve Tilly into some bushes and cut the engine, swearing under his breath. Bo watched as a car passed not more than five hundred feet away, on the main road. They'd just gone through one of the bare spots on Jesse's trail and Luke had been so distracted that he'd just kept rolling without looking for trouble first. For a split second the other car had been at the right angle to catch Tilly in its headlights. The boys had both been surprised by the quick flicker of light in their eyes, and by the time they'd pulled over and their eyes had readjusted to the darkness, the other car had been too far away to identify.

The Duke boys sat silently, catching their breath, and letting their heart rates come back to normal. The other car hadn't slowed or changed direction at all, and was now out of sight.

"I don't think he even saw us," Bo ventured, hoping to spare his cousin from the self-flagellation that Bo knew was coming. If there was anyone that was good at feeling bad, it was Luke.

"Let's hope not. Odds are it ain't nobody we need to worry about anyways. But Bo, that was a lesson in what not to do. Don't ever forget where you are or what you're doing." Luke was never one to yell when he was angry. And his quiet tone of voice right now indicated that he was more than a little upset.

They both kept quiet as Luke restarted the car and began moving again. To Bo's surprise, Luke spoke first.

"Bo, when you're makin' a run, you have to always be concentratin' on exactly what you're doing. It's kinda like war. One mistake can really cost you."

"Yeah, cost you five years."

"Five years is one thing, Bo. What we had back there coulda been bad. But it can get worse. If you're runnin' from a revenuer at high speed and you lose control of the car… five years would be a blessing compared to that. Bo, I need you to promise me somethin'."

"What's that?"

"If you're on the run from the law, no matter which law it is, and you ain't sure you can control the car, promise me you'll stop. Let 'em have ya for five years if it'll keep ya alive, okay?"

"Ah, Luke, it ain't gonna happen. You worry too much."

"Prob'ly not," Luke agreed. "Promise me anyways."

"All right, if it'll make ya quit buggin' me, I promise."

* * *

Again, Daisy was in a foul mood as she got into Andy's car. It was hard to believe that only a week ago she'd been so excited to see him at the end of each night. Now she was miserable when she didn't see him, but even worse when she did.

"Hey sweetheart," Andy greeted gently. She was obviously unhappy, and he hated to see her this way. "Want to talk about it?"

Much like Bo, Daisy had a habit of blurting what was on her mind, then having to take it back later.

"No, I don't. Yes, I do! I can't keep going on this way Andy! It's too hard, misleadin' my family, always worryin' about getting' caught…"

"Shh, honey." Andy tried to take her into her arms, but Daisy stiffened instead of leaning into his embrace.

"Andy, I need you to take me home, please," Daisy begged, tears in her eyes and beginning to fall down her cheeks. "I just can't do this anymore."

The ATF agent let her go and started the car, though it was the last thing he wanted to do right then. So many things in life he'd learned to take by force: an unruly prisoner, entry to a suspect's house when the door was barred, even a statement, if necessary. But a woman, this woman's love, he would only take with permission. If she wanted to go home, that was where he would take her. He wouldn't let her go without pleading his case, though. He spoke as he drove.

"What are you saying, Daisy? That we can't see each other any more?"

"I… I don't know Andy. I want to be with you, but who you are, well, we ain't exactly a perfect match are we?" Daisy had never admitted to Andy what her family did to earn its living, and the agent had never asked her to. She assumed he knew, but she wasn't going to take a chance of admitting guilt to him. She owed her family that much.

"I think we could be…" Andy tried.

"No, honey, we couldn't. My family is much too important to me. My uncle raised me all my life, or all that I can remember. And Bo and Luke…" Daisy swallowed to keep her voice from cracking, "Bo and Luke are like my brothers." That was all she could manage before giving in to tears, dropping her face into her hands.

At that moment, watching the road around him, Andy saw something that took his breath away. For just the briefest moment, his high beams reflected off a car with a black matte finish and no headlights, which his trained eye recognized as a runner. The car was off the road, or at least off the main road, by a short distance. The ATF agent didn't even bother to look for brake lights, he knew they would have been disconnected long ago. It didn't matter though. In that split second he'd spotted two heads, one of which glowed with golden hair. He'd seen the Duke boys making a run.

He glanced over at Daisy next to him. Her head was still down, so she had no idea what had just happened. As much as he wanted to take off after the Duke boys right now, or at the very least roll down his window to try to catch the sound of the car so he'd have an idea of its course, he couldn't do that with the sobbing woman next to him. He cared too much about her to bring her along on her own cousins' bust.

Instead, he brought her home.

"Daisy? We're here."

"I know," she answered almost inaudibly.

"Honey, I know this is hard on you. But what we have is really special, don't you think?"

Daisy was forced to agree that it was.

"Then do me a favor, okay? Just think about it for a couple of days before you make a decision, all right?"

Although Daisy was pretty sure a few days wouldn't make a difference, she agreed to think about it anyway. After all, she supposed she loved him, too.

* * *

"Here you go, Sheriff." Enos did not need to bring coffee to his superior officer, he chose to. The older man looked tired, and they had a long shift ahead of them.

"Thank you, Enos."

"Is everything okay, Sheriff?" Enos wasn't sure whether it was wise to be this forward with his boss, but Rosco seemed so down that common courtesy forced his deputy to ask about it.

"Yes, Enos, I'm fine. I'll tell you what though, I'm tired of being the sheriff."

"Sheriff?" Enos was astounded. He couldn't imagine a more important job than the one his boss had.

Rosco's eyes were focused on the bars of the empty jail cell in front of him, not on his newest charge. "It gets old, Enos. You got the people lookin' to you to keep order, then the government tellin' you which laws to enforce and which to ignore, and there's the other branches of the law, not doin' their part. Ain't none of them your friends, Enos. A sheriff has no friends."

"I'm your friend, Sheriff," it came out without thought. Enos could never stand to see another man suffer. Besides it was true, he and his superior officer were on the same side, and that made them friends, as far as Enos was concerned.

Rosco let out a dry laugh. "That ain't so, Enos. You're my deputy; I'm your boss. We ain't friends. I like you just fine, but we ain't friends."

"But Sheriff…"

"There's no buts about it, Deputy. When you give your soul to the law, the people that was your friends, they can't be your friends no more. They like ya when you protect 'em, but when you gotta lay down the law against 'em, you learn. Enos, if you're gonna be a career law man, you gotta resign yourself to the fact that you can't have no friends."

"Yes sir, Sheriff." Enos, too, focused on the empty jail cell, thinking about what his boss had just told him. He didn't totally agree with Rosco's assessment, but he could see where having the duty to arrest a law-breaker could change the balance of power in an otherwise friendly relationship. There was one thing he couldn't let go, though.

"But Sheriff? You're still my friend."

Rosco chuckled. Enos noticed that the sheriff hadn't stammered once during their entire conversation.


	6. Circumstantial Evidence

_Author's notes: This writing thing is not good for my sleeping habits in the sense that I'm just not getting any lately. So even though this chapter was written a while back, let's blame any mistakes on my current sleep situation._

_My life is somewhat out of control at the moment, what with a job change and move in my immediate future. And to complicate matters more I thought I knew where I was movingand to what job, but now such things are no longer clear. I will try to keep posting regularly even as I pack. However, I hope you'll all forgive me if I don't reply to a review or don't get a chance to do much reading for awhile. I don't even know where my socks are, much less whether I'm up to date on reading and/or writing._

_I continue to be concerned that someone will think I know what I am talking about when I write about cars jumping, fist fights, etc. I don't. I make it up based on a certain type of logic. However, I think it only fair to warn you that I passed physics by the skin of my teeth, so when it comes to the force applied when a car hits the ground... pshaw, what do I know? So don't do anything I describe at home, on the road or even in trees._

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Dukes or any of the main characters. Andy's... Andy. Not sure I want to take credit for him, but I guess I have to take at least half._

* * *

**Chapter 6 – Circumstantial Evidence**

"If Enos is watchin' the Hatchapee Mine Road, how are we gonna get around him?" Cooter asked.

Bo rolled his eyes. It was obvious to him what his older cousin planned, but Cooter hadn't spent his whole life side-by-side with Luke like Bo had. "That's why we're gonna go for a nice little hike up Snake Hill, Cooter. Just sight seein' is all."

"Yeah," Luke chuckled. "It's just that the sight we're gonna see is one Rosco apparently don't want us to see. When we come down the backside of Snake Hill…"

"We'll be at the Hatchapee Mines without using the road at all. I get it," Cooter finished.

"Hope you brought your hiking boots," Luke said, eyeing Cooter's feet as Bo loaded a small backpack with items they'd need for a half day's hike.

"Buddyroe, these are my sittin', standin', drivin', walkin' and hikin' shoes. I only got the one pair."

"Bo, you'd better grab that first aid kit. Cooter's gonna need it."

About a half hour later they were cruising past Enos with a wave, as he sat sentry in some trees at the mouth of the Hatchapee Mine Road. Luke stashed the ancient pickup in the thicket at the foot of Snake "Hill", which was really more of a mountain. Bo grabbed the backpack and each boy picked up a canteen before heading out. For the better part of the morning they hiked companionably up the slope, stopping more often than Bo and Luke would have if they'd come alone.

Like the boys, Cooter had been brought up and still lived on his family's farm, but it was not a "working" farm like the Dukes' was. Aside from a few chickens, a dairy cow, a horse and some small gardens near the house, the Davenport farm was mostly just empty fields. While the Duke boys spent nearly every day rising before the sun and performing a day's worth of physical labor, Cooter rose later, went directly to the garage and dined on donuts and beer, then stood over or lay under cars all day long. The mechanic had developed muscular arms from wresting with the more stubborn bolts and pins in a car, but his legs were not used to quite so much activity. The Duke boys teased him mercilessly, but rested whenever Cooter seemed to need it.

Sharing a small picnic at the peak, the three friends planned the route down the other side. From where they sat, they could see some of the old buildings near the log-ago sealed mine entrances. As children they'd traded horror stories about the bodies they'd imagined were trapped in the collapsed shafts down there. Not to mention the haunted shelters nearby: the old office, guard shack and cabins that had served as sleeping quarters and mess halls at one time. As the boys laughed at their childhood fears, Luke pointed out some movement in the clearing below.

"Those ain't ghosts." Two cars had pulled into the small area in front of the old office.

"They sure ain't. What's going on down there?" Bo tried to find a better vantage point on the ridge, where fewer trees would obstruct his view. No matter what he did, though, he could no longer see any activity, as the cars had rolled slowly out of sight. They obviously hadn't gone far, since they hadn't emerged in the next clearing by the old cabins.

"We're gonna have to go down there to find out," Luke said, coming up alongside Bo. "And we're gonna have to be quiet about it." He aimed this last comment at Cooter, who did not have a lifetime's experience of hunting and silent crafts like 'shine-making to draw from.

"Whatever it is, it's got to be with ol' Rosco's permission," Cooter said. "Otherwise they wouldn'ta got past Enos."

"Right, so we gotta be real careful, too. Rosco wouldn't take too kindly to us stumblin' onto his… whatever it is he's got goin' on down there." In truth, none of them could really imagine Rosco running a covert illegal operation. He might be a little weird, but he'd always been a pretty decent lawman. And running anything other than the sheriff's department just didn't seem within his skill set.

The three made their way carefully down the far side of the hill, staying in the trees and avoiding areas covered by noisy leaves. When they got close, Bo pulled Cooter behind him and held a finger to his lips. He might not have been trained by the Marines, but Bo had gone on enough of this type of mission to know the drill. Luke, followed by Bo then Cooter, walked around the far side of the old office, staying low and listening for voices. What they did hear surprised them all; both the noise itself and the location from which it came.

"That's a Mustang!" Cooter exclaimed.

"Shhhh!"

"I know that engine," the mechanic whispered while Bo and Luke cringed, expecting to be pounced upon at any minute. The engine belonged to a car that was apparently in a building that all three of them had forgotten about, the old warehouse, which was behind the boys as they came around the office. Now that they had turned in that direction, the large, open building was in plain sight. If anyone that happened to be in there came to the door and looked out, there would be no missing the three "hikers."

Luke grabbed Bo, who is turn got hold of Cooter and, crouching low, all three headed for the scanty shelter of the line of trees that bordered the clearing. Making their way from tree to tree, they came up alongside the warehouse and got their first good look at the building. Unlike the rest of the old mine shacks, this one was in good condition with some obviously recent repairs. It was wood frame and shaped roughly like a barn, though much larger than the barns on the Duke property, and was windowless. It was tall enough to be two stories, and very likely had a loft above the ground floor, though there was no way of knowing from where the boys stood. The end they had seen had double swinging doors, which were ajar. The three of them made their way to the other end, but not before both Duke boys looked at Cooter and put their fingers to their lips, and received the mechanic's nod of understanding.

The back end of the building also had double doors, but these were closed. There was a slight crack between them, which each of the three men put their eyes up to, but no one could see anything more than the occasional bright flash. Overhead, where the loft should be, was another, smaller door, which was open by maybe a foot.

Luke motioned Bo over to the nearest tree, and both boys climbed, leaving Cooter behind with their gear, to keep watch. Bo began to shinny his way along a branch that reached out towards the warehouse, and might afford him a view inside that upper door. Luke took a higher branch that jutted off to the side and could possibly provide a different angle into the old building.

"Watch yourself, Bo. Can you see anything?" Luke whispered.

"Not really. It's too dark in there. What about you?"

"Well, I think there's some welding going on in there from the arcs, but no, I can't see much."

"I can get closer; maybe even close enough to get ahold of that door."

"Just be careful, Bo, don't rush it." Luke would have preferred to be the one climbing out there himself, but had to concede to himself that Bo, despite being taller, had the lighter frame that the branch might support as he slid out its length. Besides, Luke had to keep reminding himself, Bo wasn't a little kid anymore. He could handle himself.

The thought had no sooner passed through Luke's mind than Bo slipped from the top of the branch and was suddenly hanging underneath.

"Bo!" Luke whispered, but with as much force as a scream.

"M'Okay," Bo whispered back, continuing to shinny, though now from the underside of the branch, which bent slightly under his weight. When he was far enough out to reach it, Bo gently nudged the upper door of the warehouse further open, revealing a much clearer view for both Luke and himself.

Instinctively, Luke moved into denser leaf cover, knowing that if they could see in, whoever was in there could look out and see them. Bo, however, was hanging upside down by all four appendages, with no way to hide. All anyone had to do to spot him would be to look up. Fortunately, no one did.

After watching the movement inside for a few moments, Bo looked up to see Luke looking down into his eyes. They nodded to each other in understanding and began to move again.

Bo slid his way back towards the trunk of the tree while Luke moved down to Bo's branch. Before the younger cousin could make his way to the older, a whistle, sounding very much like the common wren's call, came from under the tree. Both boys froze at the signal, locking eyes and hoping that if anyone chanced to look up, they'd be mistaken for very large leaves. As they heard an approaching motor, Luke chanced a quick look down to see Cooter safely tucked behind the tree, then looked across to the clearing to see two more cars coming towards the old warehouse. Having assessed the situation, Luke's eyes returned to his younger cousin, who was still frozen in place, but looking distinctly uncomfortable. He'd been hanging upside down for longer than planned, and he was clearly fatiguing.

"One more minute, cuz," Luke whispered, and Bo nodded, his face getting redder by the second.

Luke watched the new arrivals leave their cars outside of the warehouse and walk towards the front doors. As soon as they were out of sight, he motioned Bo towards him. The older cousin braced one hand on a branch and reached his other out towards Bo. Both boys stretched their long arms towards each other until they could grasp one another. The minute they had a good grip, Luke tugged Bo up to sit in front of him, slipping his arm around his younger cousin's waist to stabilize him while the dizziness from hanging upside down passed.

"You okay, Bo?"

"Yeah, thanks, Luke."

They made their way down to Cooter, and, again signaling for silence, led him back along the line of trees and around the side of the old office before holding a low toned conversation.

"It's a chop shop!" Bo began.

"Well I coulda told you that. You didn't need to climb no tree," Cooter commented dryly. He liked the Duke boys a lot, both individually and when they were together. But it was danged near impossible not to feel left out when they worked together like this. They not only seemed to know what the other was thinking right now, but also what would cross the other's mind in five minutes.

"They got six cars in there now, some intact, some in pieces," Luke reported.

"And one of 'em is Brody's Mustang."

The Duke boys looked at Cooter in surprise.

"I said I knew that engine. If y'all hadn't been so busy shushing me, I coulda told you everything you just told me."

"Yeah, well there's at least eight guys in there, too, counting the two that just came in."

"Big operation," said Cooter.

"Yeah," Luke agreed. "Too big to do anything about just now, though we gotta at least talk to Brody."

"I got that," Cooter answered, eyes flashing in anger at the thought of his friend's car being dismantled and sold in pieces.

"There ain't no way that Rosco's running this."

Luke looked at his younger cousin with eyebrows raised. Sometimes he was really surprised by how perceptive Bo could be. Suddenly Luke understood the origin of all those notes that Bo's teachers had sent home to Jesse, complaining that the child was not performing up to his potential. Though he preferred doing to thinking, Bo was plenty smart.

"Yeah, an operation like this takes money to get started, plus more clout than Rosco's got to keep it hidden," Luke began. "And who's got the cash and the power?"

"Boss Hogg," answered Cooter, and if his tone of voice could have killed the man, Lulu would have had a funeral to plan.

"Gotta be. Come on." Luke led the "hikers" back up Snake Hill, approximately the way they'd come down.

"Luke, we've gotta do something about what's going on down there," Bo complained, not eager to leave the situation unresolved.

"I know, and we will. But we're gonna need help. We're gonna need Uncle Jesse."

* * *

"Rosco, quit that fool fidgeting!" snapped Boss Hogg, causing the sheriff to jump a little before putting down the pen he'd subconsciously confiscated from the commissioner's desk and fiddled with. "Now, how are things going with that little project?" 

"What project, Boss?"

"That special project I gave you to do, you pea-brain."

"Oh, you mean, gij, you mean that project. Well, Boss, you see now, that new revenue agent up there, he's just, he's not doin' his job."

"Whaddya mean he's not doin' his job? You _make_ him do his job!"

"Well Boss, you see…"

"Dat, dat, dat. Never mind Rosco. Here's what we're gonna do…"

* * *

Jesse whistled low and long. "I've known J.D. Hogg my whole life, an' he's done some low down things, but nothin' like this. Before we do anything, we gotta be sure that J. D. is behind it," he advised his nephews. 

"But Uncle Jesse, we already know it's Boss Hogg. No one else in the whole county could afford to get somethin' like that started. And besides, Rosco's in on it," Bo insisted.

"No, Bo, we don't know. What you've got there is circumstantial evidence that wouldn't stand up in court. Now we Dukes can't go runnin' off exactin' justice based on circumstantial evidence any more than the lawmen can."

Bo gave his uncle the sad-blue-eyed treatment. "Yes, sir."

"Now what we really need is a way to tie J. D. into this thing."

"We can go back and watch the place again, see if Boss Hogg shows up there," offered Luke. "If we take that old camera, maybe we can get a picture of him there or somethin'."

"That's a good idea, but it's gonna have to wait for tomorrow. I got somethin' for you boys to do tonight."

Luke elbowed Bo, and they exchanged grins.

* * *

Having spent the morning on their mission, and knowing they'd be out much of the night, the boys decided to divide and conquer the farm chores instead of working side-by-side as was their habit. 

Daisy chose to milk Sadie, the goat, in the barn instead of the farmyard. The dark quiet suited her and also allowed her a chance to let down a little bit. If hiding her happiness from her family had been a burden, disguising her sadness and confusion was an absolute albatross. As she milked, she buried her face in the goat's wiry hair and let a few tears fall.

"Daisy?" Oh great, it was Luke. "You all right?"

She kept her head down, because if she wiped at her eyes, Luke would notice for sure, and if she lifted her head without drying her eyes, he'd never miss the tears.

"Yeah, just have a headache." Terrific, an out-and-out lie. She was going from bad to worse.

Luke squatted down next to where she was sitting, calling her by name one more time, and her resolve broke. The next thing she knew, she was crying on her older cousin's shoulder while he held onto her. She could hear his voice speaking gently to her, but did not attempt to respond until he called her name a third time.

"Daisy, honey, tell me what's wrong?"

She hadn't been happy that it was Luke who'd interrupted her, but now that he was here, she realized that maybe an older brother's advice was what she wanted. She lifted her head and spoke.

"Did you ever want to be with someone, but you knew it was all wrong to want them?"

"Daisy, you ain't thinkin' about gettin' involved with a married man, are you?"

In spite of her misery, Daisy barked out a harsh laugh. "Luke, no!"

"Then how is it wrong?" her cousin asked with absolutely no accusation in his voice.

Daisy wanted to be careful of what she said, but now that the floodgates were opened, words just started coming out of her mouth, unchecked.

"Uncle Jesse was sayin', about Enos, that we're on opposite sides of the law now, an' that I had to be careful…"

"Is that what this is about?" Luke asked, surprised. "You know, you can't help who you love. That part just kinda happens. You just gotta decide what to do about it."

"That's the thing. I don't know what to do."

"Maybe not right now, but there's no rush. Give yourself some time, honey, and you'll know."

"But, what if… I don't wanna have to choose between my family and a man."

"Because we're on opposite sides of the law? Daisy, no way Jesse'd make you do that. You know what he says about Rosco all the time."

"Yeah, he's just folks, has to make his livin' somehow, I know."

"So see? You got nothin' to worry about."

Daisy grabbed onto her older cousin again, giving him an affectionate hug.

"Missed you," she muttered under her breath, and she wasn't just referring to the time he'd been away, but the last few months when he'd been home, as well.

* * *

Bo made a trip into town to pick up some supplies for their upcoming overnight run. Some of what they carried was for show; if they got caught they would try to pass themselves off as campers. Other times they might actually have to spend the night in a tent before returning home, and they would need some canned food to go with their sleeping bags. On their last run they had used up some of those rations, and although tonight's delivery was a lot more local than old Silas', they would restock the car on pretense. 

Crossing the town square, Bo was surprised to see Enos coming across from the other side.

"Enos, buddy, you off duty already?"

"Hey, Bo. No, I'm working a double. I just came in for a quick break to get a bite to eat."

The boys asked after each other's families, and Bo was rewarded with a deep blush when he winked at Enos while mentioning Daisy. Obligations over, they launched into a discussion of cars and racing, something they had done a couple of years back when stuck in the same study hall.

"Just you wait, Enos. Me and Luke'll be beatin' you on the dirt track all the time."

"Ain't neither of us got cars to race in, Bo."

Bo grinned. "Not yet."

* * *

"All right, Rosco. I did all the parts that required any brains. Now all you gotta do is make sure that Andy Roach does his job," instructed the man in white. 

"Make sure that he does his… Boss? How am I gonna make sure that he does his job?"

"You're gonna follow him, Rosco, and watch, and help him if he needs help."

"Right, gijit, follow him. Uh, Boss? How do you know that the Dukes are gonna make a 'shine run tonight?"

"Because, you pea-brain, I set it up."

"Oh, right, you… but Boss? Why would the Dukes want to deliver 'shine to you? I mean, Jesse Duke, he knows you got your own still."

"I didn't set it up for him to deliver to me." Boss tried to figure out a way to describe to the sheriff just exactly howmuch of an idiot he really was, but decided not to waste his breath. Rosco was reasonably good at figuring out how to enforce laws, he was just clueless about how to break them, something J. D. had been doing to his advantage since before the man in front of him was even born. "He got an order from Orren Miller."

"Oh… so they're going out there. I'll get 'em!"

"Rosco! You'll do no such thing. You let Andy Roach catch them. That family is very popular around here. You bust them and you may just lose that election."

"Oh, right." For a moment, the sheriff was disappointed. Then he remembered, "But I can help set the trap!"

"Exactly."


	7. We Got 'em, We Got 'em

_Author's notes: Hi all, here's the next installment. It's a long chapter, but buckle up, because you're going for a ride._

_Thanks to everyone who reads and double thanks to those who review._

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Dukes or any of the main characters, and I'm not making any money from this. Andy's a handful, but I guess I have to take credit for behaviors if not his name..._

* * *

**Chapter 7 – We Got 'Em, We Got 'Em**

Jesse could not have planned a better 'shine delivery for Bo's first. Orren Miller was a local man, who lived out towards the swamp. Most of the trip could be made on Jesse's own trails, with just a short leg of the journey on blacktop to get across Uchee River. After that, the boys would cross over into the wilds around the swamp, where they would be as safe as if they were in their uncle's arms. Any revenuer that tried to follow them back there would be lost to civilization within minutes.

In addition, it was Daisy's night off, so both she and Jesse could back Bo up in separate cars, while Luke stayed by his side. Of course, Jesse and Daisy would only get involved if they were called in by one of the boys. It was important to build Bo's confidence in himself, because his family might not always be available to help during a 'shine run. This last thought brought a smile to the patriarch's face. If there was one thing Bo had, it was confidence behind the wheel.

Helping his boys load Tilly at the still site, Jesse felt a little lump form in his throat. They'd been so little when they came to him, having just lost their families. Bo had been an infant and Luke not yet five when their parents, which included two of Jesse's younger brothers, had perished in that violent and fiery crash. Jesse was forever grateful that neither of the boys had been in the car. Daisy followed soon after when yet another of Jesse's brothers finally succumbed to the colon cancer that had been slowly stealing his life.

From the beginning, he and Lavinia had faced an uphill climb. Neither was exactly young anymore, as Jesse was by far the eldest of his siblings. Their time for having children had come and gone without any, and while the couple had wanted kids, they'd finally just built their lives around having none. Suddenly they had two, then three, who'd already lost more in their short time on this earth than most people would in their whole lives. Partly because he'd had to create one family from the shambles of three, but also because of the nature of the family business, Jesse had insisted the kids build loyalty above and beyond that of most siblings. A moonshiner has always got to be able to completely trust his partners, a lesson Jesse had learned the hard way long ago.

Now his children were grown, and despite Bo's easily hurt feelings, Daisy's distractedness, and Luke's guarded nature, they could all be absolutely certain that each would be there for the other in a heartbeat, if needed. They'd become such fine adults, and tonight the youngest was about to experience his final rite of passage. Jesse couldn't have been more proud.

Luke could see the emotion in Jesse's eyes, and while he hid his own feelings a little deeper below the surface, Luke couldn't help but feel his own pride in his cousin. When he'd left for Vietnam, he'd worried about a lot of things: Jesse's ability to keep up the farm without him, his kin's reaction to the idea that they could very well lose yet one more before their time, whether the 'shine business could continue to provide for his family, and if not, how they would manage with the only member of working age overseas, earning a pittance. His greatest concern, however, had been his youngest cousin, who was such a gentle hearted, innocent, skinny little kid when he'd left. Luke was afraid the boy would wear his heart on his sleeve and somehow get himself terribly hurt. Worst of all would be if his cousin's nature changed and he lost that playful, sweet personality that made him essentially Bo.

While they'd each made their own friends at school, the boys had spent almost all of their childhood days together, partly because there had been so much work to do and it had taken both of them to get it done, but also because the farm was pretty remote from other families with kids. What Luke hadn't realized until he'd gone away was that the there was a third reason they were so close. As well as loving each other, they genuinely liked one another. They shared the same interests and there were moments when it even seemed as though they shared the same thoughts. No matter how many team sports he'd played, no matter how many missions he'd been on in the Corps, there was never anyone he could work side-by-side with nearly so well as Bo.

Luke had come back to a lot of changes. Most of his friends had settled down and become productive members of the community. Daisy had grown into a beautiful and responsible young woman. Jesse had aged ten years in three. Some of the remote buildings on the farm had been razed to make more cornfields. But the biggest change, to Luke's eyes, had been the confident, tall, blonde man that met him at the bus stop, looking him in the eye and offering a hand to shake before nearly smothering him in his arms and whispering "Missed you so much, Lukas." A split second later the tears on his shoulder told Luke that most of the changes were superficial, and that his sensitive, impetuous cousin still inhabited that taller, more muscular body.

The way Bo had grown up without hardening amazed and touched his oldest cousin. Staring down the double barrel of that wide-eyed innocence every day turned out to be more than Luke could take; he was afraid he'd taint the teenager with his rougher nature. The Marine had tried to avoid his cousin, but Bo persisted. Though Luke was still concerned that he'd somehow harm the boy, he was grateful that their closeness had been sufficiently restored to allow them to make Bo's first run together. For all the times over the last months that he'd wished Bo would leave him alone, there was no place that he'd rather be tonight.

Bo grinned at his uncle and cousin, as they loaded the last of the 'shine into Tilly's smuggling compartments. He could read both men as easily as if they'd had the words written across their foreheads. They were proud of him, but Bo knew that whatever he'd accomplished over the years was the result of everything the two people standing in front of him had taught him. On impulse, he flung himself at Jesse, holding on tight.

"You be careful out there, Bo. And remember, we're listenin' for ya, and we'll be there in no time at all if you need us. And if you don't need us, let us know that you made the drop all right, okay?"

"Yes, sir."

After disengaging himself from Bo, Jesse headed for the pickup, laying a quick hand on Luke's shoulder. His nephew understood the unspoken words: _look out for your cousin_. While the boys would stay at the still site awaiting full darkness, Jesse was headed back to the farm where he and Daisy would monitor the CB, tuned to the agreed upon emergency channel, first for word that the boys had begun their run, then that they had completed it successfully.

* * *

Agent Roach was not sure what to make of the "anonymous tip" that he had received announcing that the Dukes would make a moonshine delivery that night, including the supposed destination. Coltrane had been unusually interested in making sure he was aware of the Dukes, and might have been behind the call. Alternately, the tip could have some from someone allied with the Duke family, intending to set up the new agent in town to fall into some moonshiner's trap. The least likely scenario of all was that the caller was what they said they were: a concerned citizen trying to do their civic duty.

No matter the origin of the call, there was no way Andy was going to wait at the destination or even the Uchee River bridge, which was where the caller had suggested he take up surveillance. If someone was setting him up, either location was remote enough that a man could disappear from there without a trace. Instead, Agent Roach had stationed himself on a ridge overlooking the Dukes' farmhouse. He'd seen the boys get into the black runner without taking the time to load it with 'shine, and Jesse'd gotten into one of the pickups on the property. Then all three had driven off the farm.

Andy chose not to follow. An empty runner could very well be bait to trap a revenuer. Besides, there was still way too much light in the sky for a moonshine delivery. When Jesse returned alone at dusk, however, Andy began to think the tip could have been accurate. He pulled his surprisingly agile Chrysler out of the shrubs on the ridge, and headed for the general location that he'd spotted the loaded black runner once before.

* * *

Stalking the ATF agent, Sheriff Coltrane was disappointed. Commissioner Hogg said he'd told Roach exactly where to intercept the moonshine run. But there the idiot was, hiding in some bushes on a low ridge overlooking the Duke Farm. And so Rosco sat, on the upper ridge, cursing rookie agents.

The sheriff was sorely tempted to go to the Uchee Bridge himself and catch those Dukes, but Hogg had made him swear that he'd stay clear unless called upon. He could assist in the bust, but he could not be the one to make it. Boss was sure Rosco would not be reelected if he made the collar himself.

So instead he was stuck up here, watching Bo and Luke Duke get into that low riding Ford and driving off, followed by their uncle in his pickup. If Roach couldn't recognize that black car for what it was, he didn't deserve his badge. Rosco was finding it impossible to keep the sounds of frustration from escaping his lips, but he did manage to make them quietly enough to avoid alerting anyone to his presence.

"Ijit. You're just sitting down there and they're off makin' an illegal delivery, ijit!"

Finally the Duke patriarch returned alone, and the fool on the hill below him started to move. Rosco's muttering became more upbeat as he followed at a safe distance. He was sure that even if the sheriff had been right on his tail that rookie'd never spot him, but he stayed back anyway. He'd intentionally kept Enos on duty for a double shift that night, so that the only truly honest deputy he had would be available to assist. No one in the county could say anything was amiss if Enos was part of the collar. Finally, it seemed, everything was in place. Now, if this actually went as planned, he could satisfy his debt to his brother-in-law, get those sassy Dukes out of his hair until he retired, and ensure his reelection.

* * *

Andy chuckled as he spotted the cruiser behind him, easily identified as the sheriff's by the unnatural curvature of the bumper, bent in roughly the shape of a tree trunk. It had been that way for weeks, not severe enough to require replacement parts, and on a section of the car that would have required more hours of labor to pound out than the county government was willing to pay.

All right, so he would have help tonight, it seemed, and now he knew the origin of his anonymous call.

* * *

The boys sat together on the hood of the car, reclined against the windshield. It had been a cloudy afternoon, and it didn't look like it would clear up at night, either. Bo was grateful. Though he could handle himself behind the wheel, especially with Luke at his side, the dimmed moonlight was definitely a stroke of luck.

When the last of the light was gone, Luke sat up and placed a hand on Bo's forearm. "Ready, cuz?" he said with more gentleness than Bo had heard from him in a long time.

"You bet, Luke," he answered, pulling himself up as well. The younger boy was surprised when Luke slid off the same side of the car as he just had, landing right next to him, and placing an arm around his shoulders.

"You're gonna be great, Bo. I ain't never seen a better driver than you. Not even me." As competitive as the boys had always been, Bo recognized this for an unusually magnanimous admission on Luke's part. Before Bo could answer him, Luke added, "Now let's go." The boys exchanged grins and got into the car. This ought to be fun.

Luke picked up the CB mic. "Lost Sheep to Shepherd, Lost Sheep to Shepherd, we're headin' out to pasture."

A slight crackle, and then, "All right Lost Sheep, you watch out for that big bad wolf."

"10-4."

They began to roll down Jesse's path, both of them silent and on alert. Their route would begin exactly as the last one had, with the same vulnerabilities. Luke was determined not to let Bo make the kind of mistake that he had. And for his part, Bo was eager for his first run to go perfectly.

As they approached the first clearing, Bo came to a full stop so they could both scan the area. This was not standard practice, but Luke was not going to give his cousin a hard time about it, not after he'd forgotten to even slow down in this same type of spot.

It had been such a hot day, and the cloud cover kept the heat trapped, even after nightfall. The slow pace they'd taken so far did not allow for much of a breeze through the wide open windows, so after passing that first opening on Jesse's trail, Bo put his foot down and took off. This seemed to be the cue to go from silent to raucous, as the boys began enjoying themselves in earnest. A few laughs and hollers later, they looked at each other and grinned. This was what they were born to do.

Turning away from Bo, Luke's eye caught some movement. Though the shrubbery was fairly dense here, there were still places that could be seen through, if one really tried. Luke studied the parallel road as best he could, but there were just too many branches flying by for him to tell.

"Hold her steady, Bo. I gotta see somethin'." Bo glanced over to see the top half of his cousin's body disappear out the window until he was sitting on the frame of the door. From there, he kept his concentration on the path, hoping to avoid bumps or dips that could dislodge the older boy from his perch. Suddenly Luke's eyes were where his knees had been only seconds before. His voice came quietly, but urgently to Bo's ears. "Slow down, but not too much."

The teenager's eyes got very large, but he did exactly as he was told. From the time they were little boys, he and Luke had gone off on a variety of missions, most silly, but some genuinely important, such as learning to hunt together without ever putting the other into danger. Bo had always been a man of action, long before he was even a man, but he had learned to pay attention to his older cousin and wait for instructions before giving in to his impulses. Eyes glued to the trail in front of him, the blonde listened carefully now.

"Lost Sheep to Shepherd, Lost Sheep to Shepherd, I think your sheep have grown a tail."

"10-4, Bo Peep and I are on our way to round 'em up."

Bo had held his tongue through the distress call, but now he needed to know, "Luke, what's out there?"

"Not sure, Bo, but I think there's a car out there on High Ridge Road, keeping pace with us, no headlights."

"Maybe I should stay on the trail, then, instead of crossing over towards the swamp? At least until Jesse and Daisy get here."

"Nah, if they're after us, they already know where we are. Think you can outrun 'em to the crossover?"

Bo grinned, "You bet," and put his foot to the floor.

* * *

Agent Roach had stayed just behind the sound of another car off to the right of the High Ridge Road, not too far from where he'd spotted the Duke boys on their previous run. Intermingled with the engine noise, he could hear the occasional whoop. Whoever was out there was having a good time. Andy kept his wheels steady and his eyes to the side, relying upon the straightness of this portion of the road to keep him from flying off into a ditch. Eventually he was rewarded with some unusual movement on the other side of the thicket that lined the road, when he saw what appeared to be a head with curly hair silhouetted against the silvery light of a cloud. The Duke boys.

The agent heard the engine pitch change that indicated a gear shift, then listened as the roar seemed to grow more distant in front of him. He'd been spotted. His CB unit had been tuned to the police band all night, so all he needed to do was grab the handset and call for backup.

"This is Agent Andy Roach calling the Hazzard County Sheriff's department. I need backup on High Ridge Road." To Andy's surprise, the Sheriff that he knew was somewhere behind him did not respond, but his young deputy did.

"Yes sir, Agent, I'm on my way."

"Deputy, come code 1, no lights or sirens, got it?"

"Yes, sir."

Now that the Deputy was en route, Andy let the Duke boys continue to widen their lead a little bit. If they thought they had gotten away, they'd continue on to the drop and he could corner them at the Uchee River Bridge.

In the darkness about a mile behind the ATF agent, the sheriff giggled and extinguished his own headlights. "We got 'em, we got 'em."

* * *

Jesse headed cross country in a straight line in order to come out in front of the boys on High Ridge Road. Daisy, in Luke's low slung, yellow Plymouth, was restricted to back roads, and planned to come out behind them. Ideally they would be able to provide a cushion around the boys, blocking anyone from getting to the old black Ford, by using various evasive techniques. Jesse even carried a barrel of corn oil to slick the road, if necessary. Of course, that would require some fancy maneuvering, but between the four Dukes, it could be done.

Jesse pushed the pickup as fast as it would take him, knowing that if he got there late, he would be of no use at all.

* * *

"When you hit the blacktop, Bo, you're gonna go past the Uchee Road cutoff. Head out for that old trail a short ways up. We'll lose 'em on that, then cross back to the Uchee River Bridge."

"10-4, cuz." Bo was starting to enjoy himself again. He could actually relish the chase, so long as it ended the right way, and with Luke planning strategy, and him behind the wheel, there was no way it could end badly.

* * *

The Dukes already knew he was there, so Andy turned on his headlights, and cautioned the Sheriff's Deputy to come onto the scene completely dark. With any luck, they'd be able to sandwich the black moonshine runner between them on the Uchee River Bridge.

"Deputy, what's your 20?"

"I'm crossing the bridge now."

"Excellent. Set up a road block at the far end."

"You got it, Agent." Enos didn't know who they were about to trap, but at that moment it didn't matter. This was everything he'd joined the force to do: capture those breaking the law by any means necessary. He'd cut off the far end of the bridge, then wait for the criminals to fall right into his lap. Enos knew the Sheriff would be proud of him.

* * *

When they emerged onto High Ridge Road, the boys were surprised to spot headlights behind, maybe a quarter mile back.

"What's he doin'?" Bo asked, panic returning.

"I ain't exactly sure," Luke answered, grabbing the CB mic. "Shepherd, Bo Peep, where the hell are you?"

Jesse frowned at the anxious tone to his older nephew's voice, not to mention his choice of words. For Luke to be this excited, the boys must have more than just a suspicion of trouble. He was already moving as quickly as he could, so he pulled the CB mic from its cradle and answered, "I'll be getting to High Ridge Road in about half a minute."

"You'll be comin' in behind us then. We're already on the road with trouble on our backside."

"I'll just see if I can lasso them from behind. You keep her humpin'."

"10-4."

"Lost Sheep, this is Bo Peep comin' up at full speed on your back door. Ain't seen your wolf yet."

"10-4, Bo Peep. Head over to the blue channel for a minute, see what traffic you can pick up." Daisy flipped to the police band on her CB, monitoring for any indication of who might be chasing her cousins, and what their plan might be. A brief silence was followed by a voice she recognized.

"I got the south end of the bridge blocked, sir."

"10-4, I'll corral them to you." Daisy nearly swerved off the road at the second voice. The man who 'loved' her was attempting to send her cousins away for five years. She switched the CB back to the Dukes' emergency channel and pushed Luke's car to its limits in an attempt to get to the bridge and clear the way for Bo and Luke to make it through.

"Lost Sheep, stay away from the bridge until you hear differently from me, got it?" she said.

"10-4, Bo Peep. Any idea who we got on our tail?"

"You got a revenuer behind and local fuzz in front."

"10-4." Luke hung up the CB. "Bo, you're gonna have to lose 'em on that trail when we get there, at least long enough to let Daisy clear the bridge. If we can get to the swamp side, we've got the advantage."

"You got it." Bo focused entirely on the road before him, leaving everything else to his cousin.

* * *

When the car in front of him did not turn at the Uchee Road cutoff, Agent Roach grew concerned. Maybe this was a set up after all. At this point he was committed, though. Whatever it took, he was going to stop the car in front of him.

"Sheriff Coltrane, this is Agent Roach. I know you're out there. Got your ears on?"

Rosco was amused and annoyed. The rookie couldn't pull it off alone, so the sheriff would have to help him, but wouldn't be able to take any credit for the bust.

"This is Sheriff Coltrane. Got a problem there, Agent Roach?"

Andy wasn't pleased with Rosco's smug tone, but he didn't have time to worry about such things. "I know you're bringing up my rear back there somewhere. My quarry has passed the cutoff, I'm gonna need help up here." Before he could even release the transmit button on the handset, Andy had more information for the local law. "They just turned left into the woods. I'm in pursuit."

With an excited giggle, Rosco joined the chase in earnest.

* * *

As Jesse emerged onto High Ridge Road, he could see taillights in front of him. If he'd been thirty years younger, the Duke patriarch would have let out a string of curses. The revenuer had all the advantages tonight, and despite being new to the job, he was clearly smart. Another youngster might have continued to chase without headlights, but this agent clearly knew he'd already been spotted and might as well illuminate not only the road in front of him, but also the fleeing suspects. The boys would need fancy footwork and some help to lose this guy.

In his frustration, Jesse almost missed the reflective tape on the car behind him. When he was sure of what he was seeing,the Duke patriarch made the quick decision that the revenuer would have to wait. First he'd have to take out Coltrane. Swerving from side to side, the white haired man slowed his pace somewhat. If he could get Rosco to try passing him, he could use the pickup to push the sheriff into one of the ditches that lined either side of the road. With that done, he could resume his pursuit of the revenue agent. It would all have to happen quickly though, or he'd be of no use to the boys in front of him.

In his haste to dispatch Rosco, Jesse forgot about the dead weight of the oil-filled barrel in the back of his truck. As he swung a wide arc to the right, his back end came around more than he anticipated. Fighting to keep the truck upright, Jesse counter-steered, screeching to a halt across both lanes of the road.

Rosco, who was moving at a high rate of speed without headlights, did not see the danger until he was almost upon it. He slammed on his brakes, wrenching the steering wheel to the left. With a sickening crunch, the cruiser's passenger side collided with the pickup. The sheriff sat, stunned, but otherwise uninjured.

After glancing over at the lawman's car and seeing movement that indicated Rosco was all right, Jesse picked up the CB's handset.

"This is Shepherd, I'm out of it. Got a Coltrane stuck in my side. You're gonna have to keep runnin' without me, boys."

* * *

"Lukas?" Both the use of Luke's full name and the slightly elevated pitch of his voice betrayed Bo's anxiety.

"Steady, Bo. Keep 'er on the road." Luke forced himself to sound calm and give clear orders. The Marine knew that losing his cool could mean the difference between life and death. "You just keep ahead of him. I'm gonna look for something to help us out here."

Luke searched the area he could easily reach, then slid over the top of the bench seat to check the back. All he could find were their camping supplies. He considered trying to nail the pursuer's car with canned beans, but realized that having a chance of hitting the windshield meant letting the revenuer get too close for comfort. He'd have to think their way out of this one.

Coming forward again, Luke snapped his fingers. "I got it. Try to lose him in the trees now, but keep heading up this trail. If you can't lose him here, I know another way you can get rid of him."

* * *

"Coltrane? Coltrane! Where are you?" When he got no response, Andy tried the deputy. "Deputy Strate, you out there?"

"Yes sir."

"I'm in pursuit of the suspects on some kind of a path to the west of Uchee Road. Where does it lead?"

"That's the old scout trail, Agent Roach. It's really just a deer path don't lead nowhere, just ends at the river bank."

"Thank you, Deputy."

* * *

Daisy was ready to move heaven and earth to prevent what was about to happen to Bo and Luke. She desperately wanted to go after Andy and cut him off herself, but she was too far back to even try. Instead, she was the only Duke to actually turn at the Uchee Road cutoff, headed for the bridge. She'd have to take out Enos instead, so the boys could double back and cross the bridge. The point now was not to make the delivery, but just to get into the safety of the swamp, where her cousins could find their way around, but the ATF agent would be easily lost. They'd mount a rescue mission the next day to find Andy, but right now Daisy didn't care if he disappeared forever.

Daisy had heard Jesse's last transmission, and she knew that it was up to her to even the odds. If she could get Enos out of the way, somehow, it would be a fair match, one car trying to outrun another. And Bo and Luke had the home field advantage.

Careening towards the bridge, Daisy saw that Enos had left his post and was headed upstream along the swamp side of the river. She'd have to catch him quickly or he'd get into rough terrain where the Plymouth would not be able to follow without bottoming out. Daisy had just begun to cross the bridge when there was a flash of white in front of her. She slammed on her brakes, but not in time to avoid the crash.

* * *

J. D. Hogg had been monitoring the progress of the chase on the police band all night. Much of the time, the man in white preferred not to get dirty, and driving could be filthy work. But once upon a time, before he'd had the money to hire others to do it for him, the Boss had been a top notch moonshine runner. He knew all the moves, and could still make as many of them as his portly body would allow.

Hogg had dismissed his driver and commandeered his wife Lulu's car for the night. Wanting to see the bust, which he hoped would net at least Jesse, if not also Bo and Luke Duke, J. D. hid his car in the bushes near the Miller shack. Orren and his wife owed Hogg a debt from years back, when he'd lent them enough to repair the place after the remnants of a hurricane had passed through and torn the roof off. They'd never been able to repay him, and the Boss had held it over their heads until the time came to cash in his chips. Orren hated to be a part of anything that might cause Jesse Duke to come to harm, but he couldn't see where making a moonshine order would be dangerous to his old friend. When the county commissioner offered to forgive the debt in return for requesting a delivery, Orren made the call.

As he listened to events unfolding on his CB monitor, Boss Hogg determined that the arrest would most likely take place at the Uchee River Bridge, not down by the Millers' place. Not wanting to be seen anywhere near the actual bust, but definitely wanting to watch it happen, Boss brought Lulu's car up slowly towards the bridge, and pulled into some bushes at the southern end. From where he sat, he could see the Deputy's cruiser completely blocking any oncoming traffic. This new boy, Strate, might turn out to be useful after all. At least, that was what the commissioner thought until he saw the young man abandon his post and begin to drive along the bank of the river. What was that idiot doing?

Boss Hogg returned his gaze to Uchee Road in time to see Daisy Duke flying towards his side of the river in that yellow car of hers. Jesse Duke had already disabled his sheriff; there was no way another Duke was going to interfere with the commissioner's law enforcement team on this night. Boss pulled his wife's car out into the middle of the road at the south end of Uchee River Bridge and ducked low into his passenger seat, awaiting impact. It came almost immediately.

* * *

"Lost Sheep, this is Bo Peep. You're on your own out there. You've still got one local on this side of the river."

Bo did not take his eyes off the path in front of him, but even without looking up, he could see the glare of headlights in his mirrors. "We ain't losin' him, Luke."

"I know, Bo. You remember where this trail goes?"

"To the river."

"Right. And do you remember what it looks like at the end?"

Bo was getting testy. These were really strange questions to have to answer right now. "Yeah, there's that little rise there that we built up to give us something to jump off of when we'd swing on that old rope… Oh. Right." Bo grinned. He should have known his cousin was going somewhere with this.

"Be careful, Bo, and concentrate. You ain't jumped in the dark before."

"Don't you worry, cousin. Before you know it we'll be waving bye-bye to the nice revenuer."

Luke smiled, but did not let down his guard. The end of the trail would be coming up soon. "Bo, turn on the headlights. We ain't hiding no more, now we're jumping, and I want you to see the ramp."

"You got it."

As soon as the road in front was illuminated, Luke's eye caught something on the other side of the river.

"Shoot. Enos is over there. Bo, change your angle!" It was too late to pull up on the north side of the river; if they did so, they'd be a living physics experiment in uncontrolled velocity when the revenuer slammed into their backside. They'd have to make the jump and try to outrun or outsmart Enos on the other side. Assuming, that was, that Bo could line Tilly up to miss the Deputy's patrol car in the first place. Enos had picked what would have been the best landing site to wait for the boys.

The takeoff was anything but clean. Luke braced himself against the roof of the car, but Bo had to keep both hands on the steering wheel. The shouts that came from the car this time were not gleeful rebel yells.

"Bo!"

"Luke!"

The landing was worse than the takeoff, and Bo's hands were wrenched from the wheel as he bounced upward, his head briefly striking the roof of the car. The back end of the car slid around and beached on a large stone, flinging both boys sideways. Bo felt pain in the side of his head, and then everything went black.


	8. A Nice Ride in the Countryside

_Author's notes: Thanks to all who read, and special thanks to those who review. You guys make my day._

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Dukes nor any of the main characters, and no one's paying me anything for this. Andy's name isn't mine, but unfortunately, I have to take credit for his personality and actions._

* * *

**Chapter 8 – A Nice Ride in the Countryside**

If he'd realized the river was there, Andy Roach never would have tried to jump it. Before he knew what was happening he was flying up into the air, car and all. He didn't have sufficient momentum to completely clear the river, though, and his tail end landed in water before the car rolled out and sputtered to a halt. The young man had been quite fortunate, actually, to have landed short that way. The water provided a softer landing than land would have, and he hadn't braced himself for the impact. Not to mention that if he'd gone much further, he probably would have crashed into the deputy's cruiser, which was waiting along the bank.

Regardless, Andy was shocked to discover that not only was he on the other side of the river, he was also alive and able to move quite normally. Ahead and slightly to his right, he could see that the Duke boys' black Ford had not faired so well. The dark haired boy was already out of the car and standing by the driver's side door, reaching into the window for something. The ATF agent moved quickly.

"All right, Duke, you're under arrest. Don't make this any harder than it has to be," he said in his most menacing voice, pulling the boy's left hand out of the window and handcuffing it.

Roach was ready for a fight, remembering how good these boys were at that little skill. What the agent was not prepared for was the absolute rage that emanated from the man who wheeled around at him.

"I ain't goin' nowhere with my cousin hurt, so you can just take this thing off me now, or you'll see what it's like to get a handcuff up the side of your head." The older Duke boy made a move to demonstrate exactly what he was talking about when a quieter, calmer voice came from very close by.

"Luke, now, do what Agent Roach tells you to. I don't like pointin' this gun at you, and I sure don't wanna use it. So you just do what he says, an' I'll tend to Bo."

The boy growled, "Enos!" but seeing that the gun never wavered, surrendered his right hand for the other cuff.

* * *

Luke had never felt worse. He had failed to protect Bo from getting hurt behind the wheel, and now he couldn't even care for his injured cousin, because he'd allowed them both to be caught by a revenuer. When he'd last seen Bo, the boy was out cold in the driver's seat. Luke had checked his pulse and knew his cousin was alive, but aside from that, he hadn't gotten a chance to really assess Bo's condition. Now he was sitting on a stump probably a hundred feet away from where Tilly had landed, hands cuffed behind his back, and kept at bay by Andy Roach's gun. 

Enos turned back towards the conscious Duke. "I don't think it's too bad, Luke. He ain't bleedin'. I think he's just bumped his head."

Ignoring the man who was keeping him prisoner, Luke appealed to the Deputy. "Enos, he's just a kid. If he wakes up and I'm not there, he'll be scared. Can't I just stay with him until he comes to?"

Enos looked at the revenue agent, and saw no leeway there. "I got to call an ambulance, Luke, then maybe both of us can sit with Bo. I'll keep my gun on them, agent." Enos added this last hoping to sway Roach. To his surprise, it seemed to work. Enos went to his cruiser and called for both an ambulance and some tow trucks, then quickly returned to where Luke sat.

"Come with me, Luke." As the older Duke boy and the deputy walked to the front of the car, Andy Roach headed for the back. He was sympathetic to Daisy's cousins, having learned in the past month just how close the family was. But there was no way he'd take a chance on them somehow destroying the evidence before he could collect it.

"Deputy, before you let that boy get in there, get those keys out of the ignition and throw them back here."

"Yes, sir." Enos did as he was told, then he and Luke went around to the passenger side of the car, where Luke got in, and Enos stayed, with the door open, gun trained on the Duke boys. He hadn't known, until they'd crashed on this side of the river, exactly who Agent Roach was chasing. Although he would have done his best to trap them even if he'd known it was Bo and Luke, his heart broke at the fact that they'd been caught. They were nice people and good friends.

With his hands cuffed, there was nothing Luke could do except slide close to his cousin and talk to him. "Bo… Bo, wake up now." It seemed to Luke as though hours had passed since the blonde had been awake, but in truth it had been only a couple of minutes. "Come on, Bo, it's all right, you can open your eyes."

Luke turned to the deputy. "Please, Enos, I promise I won't try anything. Just, can't we get these cuffs off?"

Enos had known Bo and Luke pretty much his whole life. Though Luke was a few years older than Enos, and Bo a year younger, the Hazzard school system was tiny, and kids of all ages had eaten lunch together then played at recess. For all the things that the deputy had seen his friends experience, from playground fights to the death of their aunt, Enos had never seen Luke Duke cry. And right now, it looked as if he might do just that.

"Well, I can't do that," Enos said, watching the agent rummage around through Tilly's trunk. "Maybe I can cuff them up front?"

"That'll work," Luke said.

"Then you'd probably better tell Agent Roach where to find the 'shine so he'll stop searchin' back there and give me the keys."

Luke sighed, but didn't waste any time. "Tell him to pull the plastic side panels out, Enos." The deputy went to the back of the car to negotiate the deal.

* * *

When Jesse could no longer reach the boys on the CB, he headed for the sheriff's car, where Rosco still sat, stunned. 

"Rosco, are you all right?"

"Jesse?"

"Yes, Rosco, it's me," Jesse sighed, frustrated. Rosco was known for being a little slow at times. "You all right?"

"That was horrendous."

"Rosco, have you heard anything on the boys?" Jesse asked, trying to get the man to focus. The sheriff might have been a lawman, but the Duke patriarch knew that if anything happened to Bo or Luke, badges and guns wouldn't matter. Rosco would tell him the truth.

"Gij, no, I haven't."

"Okay, Rosco. I'm goin' back to my truck to call the Davenports to come get our cars. Then I'm comin' back here and we'll listen to your CB together." Jesse's tone left no room for argument, but the sheriff was in no condition to disagree anyway. He was physically sound, but terribly addled.

No sooner had Jesse returned to the patrol car than there was a CB transmission from Enos Strate, calling for an ambulance on the south bank of the Uchee River.

* * *

When Cooter had told Jesse Duke that he was on his way, he meant it literally. Although his official residence was out of town, on his parents' farm, Cooter spent many a night crashing in a small room over the garage. It afforded him not only the independence that the young man needed, but also the chance to keep tabs on all the happenings in the county. With a repeater on the roof, the garage got the strongest CB signals in the area, and could even pick up transmissions from Chickasaw, on the other side of Iron Mountain. Like most of the young men in Hazzard, Cooter loved his Citizen's Band radio about as much as his car. 

After his "hike" with his friends, and talking to Brody about the condition of the Mustang, Cooter was ready for a restful evening. A lot of people might have chosen to sit in front of the television, but the mechanic turned on his scanner and stretched out on his pitiful excuse for a sofa. Because he was so well endowed with electronic equipment, Cooter was able to listen to the ongoing chase from all sides. At first he was not worried; the Dukes had outrun more revenuers than anyone in the county. But as he heard some of the more panicked transmissions, the Dukes' friend pulled on his shoes and prepared to head out towards the Uchee River Bridge, the landmark he'd heard both Roach and Enos mention. The last transmission he heard before getting into his tow truck was Uncle Jesse's report of colliding with Rosco's car.

The truck did not have quite so many gadgets as the garage itself, so Cooter flipped back and forth between the two channels as he drove. His understanding of what had occurred was somewhat fragmented, but he did know that at least two Dukes would need his help. By the time he actually get Jesse's request for assistance, he was almost to the remote area.

He arrived a few minutes later to find a startled sheriff and a frantic uncle.

"Forget the cars, we gotta get to the boys!" Jesse snapped when Cooter got out of the tow truck to check on the damages to the vehicles in the middle of the road. The white haired man and the filthy mechanic piled into the tow truck and proceeded on towards the bridge. Cooter radioed his family to let them know that there was more than one wrecked car and they should bring another truck out that way to rescue Rosco.

* * *

Daisy Duke was furious. Not only had her boyfriend betrayed her, but now Boss Hogg had interfered in her attempt to right the wrong she had done to her family. She should have known that Boss would be a part of any serious attempt to bust the Dukes' 'shine business. Long before she'd been born, J. D. and her uncle had been partners, even sharing a still. The man who would eventually become County Commissioner had double-crossed her uncle, and since that day they'd been competitors. Jesse'd always had the stronger following, largely because he made better 'shine and dealt fairly with his customers. Honesty was not Boss Hogg's preferred method of succeeding, so instead he'd tried to put Jesse out of business. And now by blocking her from helping her cousins, he might have succeeded. 

As soon as she'd let the boys know she was out of the chase, the angry young woman climbed out of her car and, with determination flashing in her eyes, made her way around Lulu's car to the driver's side door. In a flash, Boss had locked the door, and rolled the window up almost all the way. Daisy pulled on the handle to no avail, then let loose with a verbal lashing.

"Why, Daisy Duke, I don't know what you're talking about," Boss simpered sweetly, after Daisy's tirade ended. "I was just goin' for a nice ride in the countryside and then all of a sudden you smashed into the side of my car. You ought to be more careful." At first Daisy raged against the man, kicking the car and giving him a piece of her mind. Exhausting quickly, she got a better idea. Boss would have to come out sometime, and when he did, she'd be sitting on the hood of his car.

* * *

"Come on cousin, wake up for me." Bo didn't want to wake up, but then, he never did. Morning always came too soon for his tastes. And this morning he seemed to have a terrible headache. He hated to leave Luke with all the chores, but he wasn't up to them just now. 

"That's it Bo, you can do it." Strange how gentle Luke was being. Normally he'd just push and shove at his younger cousin until he got the response he sought. Another weird thing was Luke's hands on his face, stroking his cheek. His older cousin never did that unless he was sick or…

Hurt. His head really hurt. And there was no sunlight coming in through the bedroom window, or he'd have been able to tell, even with his eyes closed. Something was wrong.

"Please, Bo." Something was very wrong. Luke sounded awful. When Bo finally forced his eyes open, the first things he was able to focus on were two very worried looking blue eyes.

"Lukas?"

"Yeah, Bo, I'm here. How are you feeling?"

"My head hurts, but I think I'll live." Then, seeing the continued distress in his cousin's eyes, Bo asked, "What about you?"

"I'm okay. Let me see your head," Luke said, pulling Bo practically down into his lap. Suddenly the younger cousin was aware of the awkwardness to the way Luke's hands moved. Finally seeing more than just Luke's face, Bo noticed the handcuffs on his wrists.

"Shoot." With Bo half on top of him, Luke felt, more than heard, Bo's breakdown. "I got us caught, didn't I?"

"Easy, cuz. Shh. It ain't your fault," Luke soothed, while his fingers served the dual purpose of checking for bumps on the head and stroking blonde hair. "You got a pretty good goose egg there, but no bleeding. You'll be all right. You probably got a concussion, though, so stay awake for me, okay?"

Enos watched his friends as they took care of one another. Not for the first time in his life, he wished he'd had a brother or at least as good a friend as the Duke boys had in each other. He cleared his throat.

"Bo, Luke, I'm real sorry about this, but Bo, I gotta cuff ya."

"Enos, he's just a kid. You got me. Can't you just let him go?"

"I'm real sorry, Luke." Enos couldn't meet those pleading eyes.

"It's all right, Luke," Bo said, sitting upright again. "If they got you, I'm goin' with you anyway."

"You don't know what you're getting into, Bo."

"I said it's all right."

Enos came around to the driver's side and cuffed the blonde's hands in front of his body instead of behind. He knew that the revenue agent wouldn't be happy about it, but Enos had seen how upset Luke was when he wasn't able to touch his cousin earlier, and he couldn't bear to make either boy feel any worse than they already did.

"I'm gonna cancel the ambulance. Bo, you ain't hurt bad enough that we can't take you in ourselves and Doc Petticord can check you out at the station. I'll be right back, now," Enos said.

Under different circumstances, Luke might have protested, wanting his cousin to get the best medical care. But seeing that Bo was responding normally, and knowing that if the boy was taken to the hospital, they'd be separated, Luke determined that Enos' plan was best. While the deputy did his job, Luke awkwardly picked up Tilly's CB mic with his cuffed hands.

"Lost Sheep to Shepherd, you got your ears on?"

"Luke? What in tarnation is goin' on out there? Are you boys all right?" Luke heard the fear in his uncle's voice, and also noted the break of radio protocol. It was all right to call each other by name on air, but never during a 'shine run. Luke guessed that Jesse probably already knew they'd been caught. Still, he found the words almost impossible to say.

"Yes, sir, we'll be okay. But me and Bo's…" Luke swallowed, tried again. "Me and Bo's wearin' them silver bracelets right now."

"10-4, Luke. Don't worry none, so long as you ain't hurt. We'll meet up with you as soon as we can." The calm tone that had returned to their guardian's voice soothed both boys. Sitting on Tilly's bench seat, they leaned against each other and waited for what they knew was coming next.

* * *

Sitting sentry on Lulu's car, Daisy was glad to see the tow truck approaching from the north side of the bridge. She was still angry, but now she was frightened, too. She realized that she had lost sight of the goal, which was to protect the boys, not to get revenge on the men who had been chasing them. 

Daisy was doubly relieved to see not only Cooter, but Jesse, getting out of the truck. Despite the gravity of the situation, Cooter had to snicker at the way Boss sat cowering in his car while Daisy kept him trapped there simply by sitting on his hood.

"Daisy-girl, you all right?"

The young woman finally left her post and ran to her uncle, burying her face in his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Uncle Jesse, I'm so sorry."

"Nothin' for you to be sorry about, you did your best."

Daisy knew she had plenty to be sorry for, but that wasn't the most important thing right now. "Bo and Luke… what happened to them?"

"They got caught, sweetheart, but they're okay."

"I'm gonna have to move these cars for us to get out to the boys," Cooter announced. For the first time, Jesse checked out the scene around him. The Yellow Plymouth was sitting perpendicular to the direction of traffic on the bridge, blocking all of one lane and most of the other. Half embedded in the side of Daisy's car was another car that Jesse now recognized as belonging to Lulu Hogg.

"J. D. Hogg, you old sidewinder, you get out here right now," Jesse stormed.

Cooter put a hand on the man's arm, "We ain't got time for this now, Uncle Jesse, we gotta move these here cars." Jesse shook the mechanic off, but calmed down.

"All right, but this ain't over J. D.," he said, putting his arm around his niece once again.

* * *

Having finally located and transferred all the evidence to his own car, Andy was ready to take the boys in. He knew his car probably wouldn't go anywhere soon, but it had a locking trunk, and he didn't quite trust the local law to keep his evidence safe. Although he was pretty sure that Coltrane had been the one who'd tipped him off in the first place, he knew that crooked law could swing any way it wanted, setting up a criminal one day and another agency the next. His evidence would have to make its way back into town behind a tow truck. 

He headed back to the black Ford where the deputy and prisoners waited. Unholstering his gun for the second time that night, Agent Roach trained it on the blonde, having recognized that the brunette was extremely well behaved when his cousin was in danger.

"Deputy, cuff the prisoners properly."

"Yes, sir." Enos holstered his own gun, which he had only been holding for the agent's sake anyway, and got the boys out of the car, one at a time. Bo stumbled some and Luke complained on his behalf, but both came easily enough and obediently allowed Enos to cuff their hands behind their backs. The agent marched them over to the deputy's car, where they were secured in the back seat.

"Deputy Strate, I'm going to ride with you, but I want a tow truck called immediately to bring my car back to the station, is that clear?"

"There's one already on the way, sir," Enos answered. He didn't like the way the agent spoke to him, or how he'd treated the men in the back, but it was not his place to question the man. He would do his duty for now, and make any complaints through the official channels later.

* * *

No sooner had Cooter cleared the south end of the bridge than Enos' cruiser approached, lights flashing, from along the bank of the river. 

"Looks like we don't have to go after them after all," Cooter commented.

"No, it looks like we're gonna have to follow 'em in. Let's go Daisy," Jesse said, and the three of them piled into the cab of the tow truck, with the yellow Plymouth hooked up behind. Boss Hogg, still locked into Lulu's car, was left to fend for himself.

* * *

"Well, Bo, it looks like you've got a couple of bumps on your head. How did you manage that?" Doc Petticord did not know the full story behind this late night jailhouse-call, but he'd made many before. Usually they were as the result of some activity at the Boar's nest, whether a brawl or just a case of extreme intoxication. Bo Duke's injuries matched neither of these activities. 

"I know I hit my head on the roof of the car," Bo began, then looked to his cousin.

"I think you hit the side of your head on the door frame after that."

"What were you boys doin' out there?" the country doctor asked, then thought better of it. "Never mind. You've got yourself a concussion, Bo. I can take you to the hospital," he offered, thinking he'd be saving the boy from a night in jail.

"Uh, Doc, is there any reason I have to go?"

Somewhat surprised, the doctor said, "I assume you boys will be spending the night here?"

"I assume," Luke answered dryly.

"All right then, Enos, I want you to keep both of these boys in the same cell, and Luke, I want you to wake Bo up several times in the night, to see how he's feeling and whether his pupils are even. If there's any change, I want to be called right away, you understand?"

Luke nodded. He'd seen men through much worse than concussions and under far scarier conditions. There was no question that he could handle his younger cousin.

Packing his bag, the doctor reminded Enos, "I want them in the same cell."

"Uh, Doc, can you tell Agent Roach that? He's gonna want them separated." Enos locked the cell behind the exiting doctor.

The doctor nodded, as both men walked through the door, heading to the main office and leaving the boys alone.

"I'm sorry, Luke," Bo said, dropping his midnight eyes from Luke's face to his own feet.

Luke reacted in complete surprise. "Sorry for what, Bo?"

"That I got us caught. If I'd jumped better, or landed better…"

"Oh, Bo. You couldn'ta done better on any of that. You had to change plans at the last second and you managed to land us so that neither us nor Enos really got hurt. No one could have done that better than you did, Bo."

"I got lucky."

"Nah, nothing lucky about it. You're good, kid. Better than I'll ever be. If there was any luck involved, it was bad luck that Enos was right where you needed to land."

"Nah, Enos used to swim with us out there, too, remember? He knew where that trail came out. He may be shy, but he ain't dumb."

The boys sat on the single bunk in silence for a little while, thinking about the night's events and trying not to worry too much about what was to come. When the thoughts got overwhelming, Bo broke the silence.

"There's one way I got lucky though, Luke."

"How's that?"

"You were with me."

"Aw, Bo…" Luke never knew how to handle it when Bo said stuff like that. His younger cousin would just come out with these things, and it wasn't really natural for Luke to respond in kind. He usually tried to turn it into a joke, which was what he'd intended to do now, but Bo stopped him.

"Luke, I mean it. For all the bad luck we've had, there's always been something that kinda balances it out."

"Like what?" Luke had never been as optimistic as his cousin, but he always enjoyed the way Bo could turn something bad on its head and make it good. Sometimes he had to go through some pretty convoluted steps to get there, but that never fazed the young blonde.

"Well, when our parents died," Bo paused and looked at his cousin. Luke didn't like to talk about this a whole lot, but Bo needed to, from time to time. "I mean, you could say that was really bad luck. Even the way it happened. Jesse always said it musta been especially bad luck because no one could drive as good as my daddy. He never thought they'da got killed in a car. Or if they did, he thought they woulda at least been runnin' from the law." Bo shivered at the thought, remembering what had happened this very night. Luke put an arm around his cousin's shoulders, but didn't move to make him stop talking. "But instead they got killed goin' out to dinner together. So it had to be bad luck."

"Right." Luke was really hoping this was leading somewhere.

"But then, if that hadn't happened, you woulda moved up north like your parents was planning to, and we never woulda known each other very well. I'm not sayin' I'm exactly glad it happened. But I am really glad that I got you, you know? So there was good luck too, because now you're here with me."

"Geez, Bo." Why did his cousin do this to him? Right when he needed to have his guard up to protect them both, Bo would say something like this and the façade would instantly fall away. "I love you, too."


	9. Not a Personal Thing

_Author's note: Hi all! Here's Chapter 9, quick before my weekend steals me away to whatever it brings. _

_Thanks to all who read, and extra thanks to those who review. I very much appreciate the feedback._

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Dukes or any of the main characters. Andy does his own thing, but his name belongs to Warner Brothers. And none of them are a source of revenue!_

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* * *

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Chapter 9 – Not a Personal Thing

"Dat, dat, dat, now Jesse, Agent Roach caught your boys with the evidence on them. There ain't no way I can set bail for them boys. It's a federal offense. Why, they ain't even in county custody right now. We're just holdin' 'em for the U.S. of A. government until they can come and claim them."

"J. D. I don't care whose prisoners they are, they got a right to counsel, and until further notice, that's me."

"You ain't no lawyer." It wasn't what Boss had said, but how he'd said it, that made Jesse consider revisiting their youth and planting his fist in the face of the man who'd once been his friend. It had already been a trying enough night, and now that all the parties were finally back at the county building, he and J. D. had been squaring off for half an hour, while Jesse's kids were locked up downstairs.

The Duke patriarch managed to keep his fists in check, though later, he was never sure exactly how he'd done it. "I don't have to have no diploma to talk to them. The law says they have a right to counsel, and that's what I aim to give them. You ain't gave them their phone call yet, have you? How are they supposed to get counsel if they can't have me and they can't call no lawyer?"

"Jesse's right there, Boss. The law definitely states that they have a right to counsel." Catching the look in his brother-in-law's eye, Rosco quickly added, "Gyu," then shut up.

"They might have a right to counsel, but not at one AM in the mornin'. This building is closed. You can just come back during visitin' hours."

"J. D…."

* * *

Daisy had taken advantage of the battle raging in Boss's office to go and locate Andy. She wasn't sure what she was going to say to him, but it was certainly going to be loud and include some words Uncle Jesse would not approve of her using. A little of the fight went out of the young woman when she remembered that her uncle wouldn't have approved of any of this, but she swallowed that thought back and continued to hunt the man down.

She found him with Enos and Doc Petticord in the squad room. This was not the time to lash out at him, so she stayed back in the shadows for now, listening.

"All right, but just for tonight. After that I want them separated, though they can be side-by-side. They're smart, and I don't want them trying anything." That was Andy.

Doc Petticord said his goodnights and headed out the door. Enos also excused himself, walking towards the commissioner's office. There was quite a ruckus going on in there, and it was very likely that the sheriff needed his assistance.

Agent Roach sat down behind one of the desks in the squad room and let his head fall into his hands. Now that the adrenaline had stopped pumping through his system, he was left exhausted and slightly remorseful. He hadn't meant to be so rough with the Duke boys, but they'd shown themselves to be good fighters and he was afraid of what might have happened if he'd let them get the upper hand. When he'd first arrived at the scene he hadn't been sure whether Bo Duke was really hurt or whether it was part of some plan designed to play on his sympathies and allow the two to escape. Now that he knew the blonde had really been injured, he wished he'd been a little more reasonable with Luke as the arrest had unfolded.

"What exactly were you thinkin', Andy Roach? Did you think maybe telling me you loved me would get me to help you catch my cousins? Is that what you thought?"

Daisy. Andy hadn't forgotten about her, but he also hadn't expected to see her just yet. He'd wanted more time to figure out what to say to her.

"Sweetheart, I'm sorry. It's not a personal thing…"

"Don't you call me sweetheart!" After that quick outburst, Daisy made a conscious effort to lower her voice to a reasonable level. She didn't need to bring the crowd that was in the commissioner's office out here. "Don't you call me anything, Andy Roach."

Andy held up his hands to show he meant no harm. "I'm sorry. It's just… this is my job Daisy, the reason I am in Hazzard in the first place. If I catch them, I have to arrest them."

"If you catch them. But you didn't just happen to catch them, did you? You been watchin' them, ain't you." It wasn't a question.

Agent Roach didn't know how to handle this one. On the street, or in tonight's case, in the woods, he knew what he was supposed to do, and how to make others do what he wanted them to. When it came to dealing with people he couldn't slap cuffs on, sometimes he was out of his element. In this case, he found he could only tell the truth.

"Yeah, I have been."

"You used takin' me home as an excuse to get near the farm, didn't you?"

"I did," Andy admitted, "but I never learned anything then, Daisy. And I never learned anything from you either. I never asked you about them, and you didn't tell me anything useful. What happened with me and you didn't have anything to do with me catching them." Andy consciously neglected to tell her that he'd first seen the boys making a run while bringing her home. He wanted to be very honest, but saw no reason to be deliberately hurtful. If he had his way, Daisy'd go to her grave never knowing that their time together had anything to do with tonight's bust.

Instead of making her feel better, this information from Andy caused Daisy greater pain. She was losing her anger quickly, and without that emotion, she was only left with guilt and sadness.

"Andy, you seen who we are. You know we ain't got no other livin' to make. You know we ain't bad people. How could you do this to me, to all of us?"

Andy wanted nothing more than to take the crying woman into his arms, but he knew it was no longer his right to do so. Instead he made what was probably the hardest admission he'd ever make, "You're good people Daisy, and you don't deserve to lose your livelihood this way. But it's against the law and it's my job to enforce that law. And," this was even harder to say, but he wanted to be completely truthful with the woman that he genuinely cared about, "I like my job Daisy. I really do. Chasing your cousins was exciting. They are the best drivers I have even seen. I'm sorry that doing my job hurt you and your family, but I can't be sorry I caught them. Do you understand that?"

Daisy's friend, anger, was back. "All I understand is that my cousins are going to prison, probably for five years, and that my uncle in there is too old to have to find a new trade now. And we've all lost so much family, we can't afford to lose any more, even if it is just five years and not forever. So I'm glad you had your fun, but I just can't stand to look at you no more."

With those words, the first woman Andy Roach had ever loved stormed out of the squad room and back to what was left of her family.

* * *

When Daisy got back to Boss's office, the war in there was still underway. Jesse's face was a scary shade of purple, Rosco's hat was in his hands, Enos was staring at his own feet, and J. D. Hogg was looking awfully smug.

"My budget is already stretched to the limit, Jesse Duke. I can't afford to keep this building open all night. Why, just think of all the costs: electricity, maintenance, paper goods…"

"Paper goods? What are you talkin' about J. D.? I ain't gonna use no paper. I'm just counseling my boys, which they have a right to."

"And we have to add your little visit to the report, which means more paper. Not to mention manpower."

"'Scuse me Mr. Hogg?" Enos was terrified of what he was about to do, but he was even more afraid that Jesse Duke would have a heart attack right there on the spot. "I have to stay here anyway, in case Bo Duke needs a doctor in the night. So there's no extra manpower."

"Hogg," everyone turned at the unexpected voice, coming from the door to the office. "Are you denying those boys their right to counsel?" Agent Andy Roach asked. "You just let their uncle counsel them, and right now. This is my case, and I won't have it thrown out of court because you refused to grant the suspects their rights."

As much as he hated to swallow his pride, Boss Hogg was given no choice. "All right, all right. You have exactly one hour, Jesse Duke."

* * *

Before heading downstairs to talk to the boys, Jesse had instructed Daisy to have Cooter take her home. When he was done with the boys, he'd take a loaner car from the mechanic and meet her at the farm. All of his kids had been through an awful lotover the course of thenight, and he wanted at least one of them to have a good night's rest. The next few days were likely to require that everyone be on their toes, which would only be possible if they got some sleep.

Daisy found Cooter sitting on the steps to the county building. Normally he would have been inside fighting for Bo and Luke alongside everyone else, but he'd been barred entry by the revenuer. By the time Daisy came out to find him, the mechanic was worried about his friends, but even more than that he was furious at Andy Roach. No sooner had he and Daisy gotten into the tow truck than he let loose with a string of choice words about the man.

"Cooter, stop that, please," Daisy begged.

Shocked, the young man said, "What's with you, Daisy? He, Boss and Rosco just railroaded Bo and Luke! Why ain't you mad?"

"I am, Cooter. Just, the person I'm mad at is me."

"Now, girl, I saw your car. You couldn'ta done a better job of trying to save them. You ain't got no reason to be angry at yourself," Cooter reasoned. He was really starting to get worried about her. She was very upset and things were only going to get worse from here, when the boys were tried and convicted. With evidence like that ATF agent had, they'd be sent away for years, and Daisy would be minus her two cousins. If there was anything Cooter could do to take away his friend's pain that night, he was going to do it.

"Oh, it ain't that… If I tell you somethin' can you keep it from Uncle Jesse and the boys?"

"If you want me to, Daisy. But there ain't nothing you can't tell them."

"Yes, there is. Up until tonight, I was spending an awful lot of time with Andy Roach."

"Time together… like dating him?"

"Yeah, Cooter. And it was starting to get serious, at least I think it was." Daisy realized that she didn't know much of anything for sure anymore.

"But you knew he was a revenuer!"

"Yeah, I knew, but we didn't talk about that. An' we didn't talk about moonshinin' either. We mostly just talked about us. Cooter, I swear, I didn't tell him nothin' that would get the boys busted!"

"Oh, sweetheart, I knew that." As unnerved as he was by Daisy's confession, Cooter never doubted that whatever had transpired between the revenuer and the moonshiner's niece, it hadn't consisted of them conspiring to harm her cousins or the family in any way. "I won't tell Uncle Jesse or the boys, but honey, I think you should. Otherwise it'll just keep eatin' at you, and that wouldn't be good. Your family's going to need all the help you can give them now and you won't be of much use, sittin' there feelin' guilty."

Daisy looked at her hands and whispered, "They'd never forgive me."

"I don't think that's true. You didn't have nothing to do with them gettin' caught. An' it ain't like you was datin' me. Now _that_ they'd have to disown you for." Cooter was rewarded with a small smile and a warm hug.

* * *

"Boys," Jesse called tentatively, "you all right?"

In response, Luke gave him a sheepish half-smile, and Bo blurted out, "I'm sorry, Uncle Jesse."

Jesse pulled an old chair up to the outside of the cell, and the boys both came to the bars and squatted in front of him. Jesse reached in to take Bo's face in his hands.

"What are ya sorry for, Bo?"

"For gettin' caught. Maybe you shouldn'ta let me drive after all."

"Now, Bo, there was four cars after you, did you know that? I ain't never tried to outrun four cars, and neither has Luke here. But if we had, I can tell you, we wouldn'ta kept 'em going as long as you did. You did great, boy."

"But, Jesse, what are we gonna do? You can't keep the business up without at least one of us to help you, and now we're both goin' away…" Jesse pulled the boy as close as he could, while Luke also put an arm around his younger cousin's shoulders. Running his hands soothingly through blonde hair, Jesse looked at his older nephew. Luke seemed to be holding up fine. There were moments when he appreciated that boy's control. It might make him hard to deal with sometimes, but it also provided a lot of strength for the younger members of the family. Convinced that Luke would be all right, Jesse returned his attentions to Bo.

"Now Bo, you can't be thinkin' that way. They're gonna have to set bail, and I'll get you out. And then we'll come up with somethin' for the trial. You can't give up," Jesse consoled.

"Yes sir," Bo answered, without conviction.

"In the meantime, don't you go admittin' to nothin', you understand me?" Jesse was getting back on his game. He didn't mind easing Bo's hurt, but he wanted the boys to be tough. If Bo was feeling this bad, there was no telling what he might confess to. Not only that, Jesse could see each of the boys admitting to being the mastermind so that the other one could get off. The only place that would lead was a longer sentence for them both. No, he had to toughen them up right now. "You don't talk at all, unless you got a lawyer present. An' we'll get you one."

"Yes sir."

"Jesse? You said there was four cars after us?" That was Luke, always thinking. "Roach, Enos and who else?"

"Well, Rosco was behind me, and then Daisy ran into J. D. Hogg," Bo actually snickered at the image of his petite cousin running into the portly man. The sound of his laughter warmed his cousin's heart.

"So Boss was in on it," Luke said, meeting his uncle's eye.

"J. D. was in on it," Jesse said thoughtfully.

"Seems to me you and Daisy got some work to do," Luke suggested. He and Bo exchanged grins.

The old man nodded. "We'll do it boys, but remember, this is a federal charge. Whether Daisy and me get what we need or not, Roach may not drop the charges against you."

"Well, then we'll see Boss in the federal pen," Bo said, and all three Duke men laughed.

Jesse Duke headed home, knowing that whatever happened, his nephews would find a way to get through it. They were good, strong boys, and he was only sorry that the family business could be responsible for their incarceration. If there was another way to earn a living in these parts, Jesse would quit 'shine making in a second, just to have Bo and Luke safe and back under his roof.


	10. If You're Goin', I'm Goin'

_Author's notes: Here's chapter 10. Depending on what Tropical Storm/Hurricane Ernesto does, this might be my last update for a little while. These things usually take out power for at least a week, and internet connectivity for even longer._

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Dukes or any of the main characters, and I'm not making any money from this. Andy's name belongs to Warner Brothers, and his charming personality is all mine. Don't believe a single thing I wrote about car chases. If you follow my "instructions" you'll have a heap of rubble in no time._

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* * *

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Chapter 10 – If You're Goin', I'm Goin'

The Duke patriarch finally got home well after three o'clock in the morning. He wanted to go directly to bed, knowing there was no way around the first chores of the morning. Some things could be allowed to slide, but making sure the animals were fed was not one of them. Normal feeding time was barely three hours away, and Jesse was not as young as he used to be. He needed some sleep.

Which was why, as he parked the big, old Chevy Nova that Cooter had lent him in the farmyard, he was disappointed to see a light on in the kitchen. Daisy was still up. Jesse dragged his tired bones into the old house.

"You better get to bed, Daisy. We got a lot to do tomorrow."

"I know and I will, but Uncle Jesse? I've got to tell you something," Daisy said, not meeting his eyes.

There were times when it seemed to their uncle that Daisy and Bo were cut from the same cloth. They both spoke their minds almost without thought, though Daisy's way of doing it was much sweeter and led to far fewer bloody noses. Each could be quite sensitive and easily hurt. And Jesse had a feeling that both were feeling guilty right now for something that was not at all their fault.

"Daisy-girl, now I know you did your best out there tonight, and the boys do, too. They wouldn't want you feeling bad like this."

"I know, Uncle Jesse, and that's not what I need to say."

"All right, then, what's on your mind?"

"Uncle Jesse," Daisy swallowed, and faced the man who had raised her. She wanted just one last look at those understanding blue eyes before they turned disappointed. "Uncle Jesse, I wasn't getting rides home from Enos during that time that the boys were borrowing my car."

"No?" Jesse didn't see why this conversation had to take place in the middle of the night, but if Daisy was this upset, it was best to let her get whatever she was trying to tell him off her chest so they both could sleep.

"No. It was Andy Roach that was bringing me home. And the reason he was bringing me home was that we were dating."

Jesse didn't yell, but the look on his face frightened Daisy more than if he'd let her have it. The shock on his elderly visage was so powerful that the young woman thought her uncle might lose consciousness right there at the kitchen table. Finally, he exhaled.

"You knew he was a revenuer?"

"Yes, sir. Though we never talked about that."

"Well, what in tarnation did you talk about?"

"Love…" Daisy said, beginning to cry in spite of herself.

"Love. Oh Daisy-girl, I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?"

"Yes, I'm sorry that boy used you that way. He's got a job to do, and I can forgive him for doin' it. But there's better ways to do it than to break someone else's heart."

"Oh, Uncle Jesse, I don't know if he used me. I can't be sure. But even if he did, I knew better. I shouldn'ta fallen for him."

"Well, you can't stop yourself from fallin', but once you've fell you don't gotta stay down. That part's up to you. So I hope you've got up from that fall by now?"

"I don't know, Uncle Jesse."

"Well, you have exactly three hours to un-fall, you got me? We got a lot of work to do tomorrow, er, later today. So you just go in there and get to bed and when you get up in those three hours, I want you to start fresh, as if you'd never talked about love with a revenuer. You got me?"

"Yes sir." Daisy rose to do as she was told.

"Daisy."

"Yes sir?"

"You come here now." Jesse stood and took the only surviving female Duke into his arms, holding her tight. They could not afford to be angry at one another. He and Daisy would be spending the next few days, and possibly the next few years, with only each other for company.

* * *

"How's your head, Bo?"

"It's okay. It don't hurt as bad as it did for awhile there. But I still don't feel too good."

"Yeah, you're not gonna. Why don't you try to sleep?"

"I don't wanna. Luke," Bo hated to admit this next part, even to his cousin, who'd known him all his life. He was a man now, wasn't he? He shouldn't be feeling this way. "I'm kinda scared."

"Of course you are, Bo, so am I. You're gonna need some rest though."

"Well, I'm too scared to sleep, I guess."

"There's no such thing. When you're tired enough, you'll sleep, no matter how scared you are, no matter how hard the ground is, no matter how little you've had to eat."

"How did you sleep in Vietnam?"

"Ah, cuz, you just did. Not a lot, but you did. I guess one thing that helped was fire watch. Did I ever tell you about that?"

"No." Bo chose not to remind Luke that he'd heard almost nothing about any part of his older cousin's time overseas.

"Well, fire watch was something you'd do whenever you wasn't at your base camp. So if you was out on a mission, if you got captured, if some of you got separated from the group, whatever, you did fire watch. When you could, you built a fire and that's what it's named for. But even if you didn't have a fire, you'd do fire watch. All it really means is someone stays up and keeps watch while the others sleep. An' you take turns, so's everyone gets a little shuteye. So how about if I take the first shift and you get some rest?"

Bo giggled. "You gonna build a fire? I wanna see what Rosco does when he comes back in the mornin' and you got a bonfire goin' in here."

"He'll have to bring his own marshmallows," Luke laughed. Rosco wasn't a bad guy. He was just on the wrong side of a stupid law that said you couldn't make and sell your own alcohol products. "Now lay down."

Luke slid to one end of the single cot and pulled Bo down so that his head rested in the older cousin's lap.

"Luke, I _am_ sorry we got caught."

"I know you are, me too. But remember what I said? I'd rather get five years than have you really hurt or killed. So I'm kinda glad to get caught if it means that you're okay. I just wish you didn't have to go to prison with me."

"Stop saying stuff like that. If you're goin' I'm goin' too."

"Bo, listen to me. You was too young and too upset to understand this when I tried to explain it the first time. When I got my orders to go to Vietnam, do you remember how mad you was? You wouldn't talk to me, you took off."

Bo was embarrassed to remember it, but it was true. "Yeah, I know I did. I feel real bad about that, Luke."

"It's okay, Bo. I understood. I wasn't mad then, and I ain't mad now. But when I finally found you by the creek, do you remember what I said?"

"Not all of it, no."

"I told you that if me going to Vietnam right then meant you wouldn't get drafted four years later, it was worth it to me. I couldn't stand the idea of you being over there, maybe getting hurt or killed. And even if you did come back in one piece, you would have changed so much… that would have been the worst."

"You did change after you was over there."

"I know, Bo. And if you go away to prison for five years, you're gonna change, too. It ain't gonna be like it is here. We'll be in different cells, different wings, maybe even different prisons. You're gonna have to watch your back and make sure that no one gets the upper hand on you. You're gonna have to be tough, and mean, and scary enough to keep some of the worst ones away from you."

Both boys were quiet, imagining prison, both as Luke had described it and from what they'd seen in movies.

Luke spoke first. "Bo, if it comes down to it, let me take the rap. If we both swear that you didn't know what was in the car, they'll let you off easy, maybe just probation."

"If you're goin', I'm goin'."

"Don't be so stubborn, Bo!" Luke snapped.

Bo sat up and looked his cousin square in the eye. "I ain't fifteen anymore, Lukas. You gotta stop treatin' me like a kid."

"I don't mean to treat you like a kid, cousin. It's just," how many times was he going to have to say this tonight? "I love you Bo, just the way you are. I don't want you to change."

"Yeah, well, I loved you when you was eighteen, too, and I didn't want you to change. But the next year you had to go to Vietnam, and you did change. An' you came back all different and I still love you. You gotta let me grow up. An' you have to trust me that I can handle whatever happens, okay?"

Luke sighed. He'd given his family a similar argument before being shipped out. "I'll try, cuz. Starting tomorrow. Right now, you're going to sleep." He pulled Bo back into his lap, and the boy did not resist. A short time later Bo was snoring.

* * *

Deputy Strate was tired. He'd spent the night in the squad room, close enough to hear if the Dukes called for him, but far enough away to give them their privacy. And also far enough away that he wouldn't have to face them.

Enos had a pretty good idea of how the boys felt. He'd never been caught when he'd run moonshine, but he'd been plenty scared at times. All the 'shine runners used the rule of thumb that getting caught meant five years in prison, but there were no guarantees that the boys wouldn't get more, especially considering they had not only Agent Roach testifying against them, but also Sheriff Coltrane, Boss Hogg, and if it came down to it, Enos himself. If he was called, he'd have to testify that he'd seen the evidence in the boys' car. And, if asked, he'd have to admit that this was not the boys' first offense, just the first time they'd gotten caught. He knew of other 'shine runs that at least Luke had made, if not Bo.

The deputy had stayed away from the boys all night, but now he had no choice. It was time to feed the prisoners their breakfast, and as the lowest man on the totem pole, the task fell to him. He'd already gone next door to Ruby Lee's Café to pick up the standard meal of grits and soft boiled eggs with coffee. Enos realized that it would be nowhere near as hearty as what they would have had at the farm, but it was more than he, himself, would be getting. He'd be lucky to just have some coffee before heading back out on patrol in a few minutes.

As he approached the cell, the deputy once again found himself envying the way the Duke boys relied on each other. Despite the fact that there was just the one tiny cot, both boys were sprawled out on their backs across it, Luke with his head at the top and his torso twisted so that his legs were up on the wall, and Bo with his head on Luke's chest, his legs splayed out and feet on the floor. There was no question they'd both be pretty stiff this morning, but they had somehow managed to actually sleep in those positions.

"Bo, Luke, wake up, now. Breakfast time," Enos called softly, not wanting to startle them.

"Mornin', Enos," Luke said, rubbing his hands across his face, then carefully disengaging himself from Bo. The younger boy would wake up all by himself when he smelled breakfast, and there was no reason for Luke to rush him that morning. "What you got there?"

"Just the usual," Enos said as he approached the cell to begin passing Luke the meal. Protocol dictated that the cell only be opened when there were two lawmen present, so that the prisoners could not overpower a single officer and escape. However, there were almost never two men free at the same time, so normally Enos would simply have opened the door and given the boys their food on a tray. This time, though, because Agent Roach seemed to want everything done by the book, Enos had asked Miss Ruby to pack the food in containers that would fit between the bars.

Luke found himself the recipient of two cardboard containers filled with grits, two Styrofoam cups with coffee, and two more cups of boiled eggs. There was nothing to do but laugh.

"Mm, Enos, looks great."

Much as Luke expected, Bo awoke the minute that the food came to their side of the bars.

"Mornin'. What's for breakfast?" Bo asked.

"Some cups and a box. Enjoy, cuz," Luke said, handing Bo his share of the food. Ignoring his older cousin's words, Bo just opened his container and began to wolf down the contents.

"Bo, Luke, now I'm real sorry about last night," Enos began.

"What about last night?" Bo asked around his mouthful, but in earnest.

"You feelin' all right, Bo? You do remember last night, don't you?" The deputy studied his friend carefully.

"Yeah, I remember it. What are you sorry for, though?"

"I didn't know it was you we's chasin'."

"Would it have mattered?" Luke asked.

"No, you was breakin' the law and I had to do my best to catch you. But I still don't want to see y'all goin' to prison."

"We don't want to see us goin' to prison neither," Bo said. "But if we do, it ain't your fault. You was just doin' your job, and we was just doin' ours. Last night you did yours better'n us is all."

"I guess," Enos replied, not really convinced, but at least somewhat comforted that his friends were not angry with him.

"Besides, we'll get our revenge." Both Luke and Enos looked at Bo, wondering how he could possibly be planning to get back at Enos from behind bars. "We're still gonna be beatin' you on the dirt track, buddy."

* * *

"Hello, Agent Higgins. This is Andy Roach up in Hazzard."

"Howdy, Roach. How's business up there in the sticks?" Joe Higgins was a little concerned about the serious tone to Andy's voice. He'd trained the kid and knew him to have a cutting sense of humor, which he employed almost all the time. If Roach was this serious, something was wrong.

"I caught the Dukes."

"Whoa, congratulations, boy. Well done."

"Thanks. But Joe, catching them is one thing. Sending them away is something else. They're not a bad family, just one that hasn't changed with the times," Andy said.

Agent Higgins had to chuckle. He'd done his time in Hazzard, too, and had grown to really care for the people of the county. They had so much going against them: rugged land that was difficult to farm, taciturn weather that could lead to floods or droughts, crooked government, and they were some of the poorest people Higgins had ever known. But the residents of the Appalachian county had an incredible spirit, and they had grown on him, just as they had on Roach. There was more than one reason that the Dukes had never been caught.

"Goin' soft already?"

Andy squirmed. He really liked his superior, and wanted to impress him. But while he'd enjoyed the chase, he was now struggling with the thought of the Duke boys in prison. They were so young and their family needed them. "I guess. Is there anything we can do to maybe get them a light sentence or something?"

"Let me work on that, Roach, and I'll get back to you in an hour or so. And Andy? You're turning out to be a fine agent. You caught the people no one else could, and your heart is in the right place. It's the whiskey trade that is the problem, not the people who make their living from it."

* * *

"Uncle Jesse, why do we need two cars if we can't even drive down to the Hatchapee Mines in the first place?" Cooter asked.

"I ain't your Uncle Jesse," the patriarch said absently, causing Cooter to smile for the first time that day. "How did you and the boys get out there yesterday?"

It was hard to believe it had only been a day since the three of them had last made this trip, but according to the clock it was only 24 hours, even if it did seem like years.

"We hiked over Snake Hill," the mechanic answered.

"Amateurs. Just give Daisy that other car and you ride with me. You'll see how it works."

* * *

After Enos had gone, the boys had nothing to do but sit together and think about the future. The next several years looked mighty bleak. Bo tried to focus on a time that was a little more distant.

"Luke? What I was sayin' to Enos about the dirt track… do you think we could race some day?"

"Sure, cousin, I guess. You definitely got the skill for it."

"We'd need a car."

"Bo, you got a talent for statin' the obvious."

The boy rolled his eyes. "What I'm sayin' is, you think we could soup up one of our own?"

Luke chuckled. "Shoot, cousin, I could build it from the ground up. With my eyes closed and left handed."

"Then let's," Bo called Luke's bluff. The Duke boys were known for being pretty sure of themselves, but it was only because they challenged each other to back up their words with action.

The older cousin let out a dry laugh. "Right Bo, in five years, we'll do that."

"No, cuz," Bo, ever the optimist, corrected. "As soon as we get outta here we'll do that. It's not gonna be five years."

* * *

Enos was startled to see Daisy Duke walking alone on the Hatchapee Mine Road. This was a pretty remote stretch of land, and a fairly unreasonable place to be going for a stroll. The deputy pulled his car out of the thicket to approach her.

"Enos, am I glad to see you," Daisy said, barely choking back a sob.

"What's the matter, Daisy?"

"Well, with Bo and Luke in jail, I got no one to help me. The car Cooter loaned me just up and quit about a mile down the road and I'm out here all alone…"

"Aw, that's okay, Daisy, I'll CB the garage for you, and they'll send someone out."

"No, Enos, I'm sure it's real simple to fix. I just need a man like you to come take a look at it."

The deputy hesitated to leave his assigned duty, but remembered that Rosco had pulled him away from the area occasionally to answer a call. Besides, there was nothing happening out here on this old road, but there was something important he'd be doing if he left: helping civilian Daisy Duke. Motioning for Daisy to get in, Enos decided to do what was right.

From the trees in which their car was stashed, Cooter smiled at Jesse Duke. "Pretty slick, old-timer."

Jesse glared at the young man. "That was nothin'. And you mind your manners."

The mechanic chuckled, undaunted, and pulled the car out from the tree cover to drive it down into the road. Having been out this same way just yesterday, Cooter had a good idea of how close to the mines they could get before they'd run the risk of being spotted. In just a few minutes, he'd pulled the car off the road where it was at least partially concealed in some shrubs.

"Don't signal until you're really ready for me," Jesse instructed as he slid over into the driver's seat. "Because the second you do I'm coming in an awful rush to get you."

Cooter took the camera Jesse handed him and headed towards the old warehouse. They'd both hoped Boss Hogg might be there, but it looked as though he was not. The mechanic would have to proceed with Plan B. Not bothering to hide in the trees, Cooter made his way towards the chop shop, taking some photos of the exterior of the building and the three cars parked in front as he went. Slipping the camera's strap around his neck and attaching the flash, Cooter prepared for the trickiest part of this operation.

"Hi, fellas… smile!" the mechanic hollered from the front of the warehouse. It was clear that the men involved with this operation did not expect unwanted company, because for the second day in a row, the front doors were wide open. Cooter had even taken a moment to assess the situation before announcing his presence. Seeing exactly who he was dealing with, where they were, and what they were doing, theDukes' frienddecided he could get in about three photos before he'd have to give the signal.

After snapping only two shots, Cooter changed his plan and took off at his highest speed in the general direction of where he'd left Jesse. Trying to whistle and run at the same time wasn't working so well, though; about the only noise he was making was a sort of a half-raspberry. Finally he gave up and simply hollered, "Help!"

Jesse'd been watching pretty carefully anyway, and was already on his way by the time Cooter panicked. He cut cross-country to where the boys' friend was, slammed on the brakes and flung open the door. The mechanic fell, more than jumped, into the vehicle, and Jesse pulled away, allowing the momentum of the car to close the door before Cooter could even think of doing so.

"Dang it Cooter, will you get off my stick shift!" Jesse grumbled.

"Sorry, Uncle Jesse," Cooter answered, trying to do as he was asked. The way the Duke patriarch drove, there was no way the young man could get his balance, much less move out of the way. Out of desperation, Jesse shoved the mechanic upright and shifted gears. That boy sure meant well, but he wasn't nearly so athletic or agile as Jesse's nephews.

The three men that had been chasing Cooter on foot now turned back to head for their cars, but it turned out they didn't have to run far. The other two men that had been a part of the impromptu photo shoot had already gotten into the cars and begun to chase after the loaner Chevy. One car stopped to pick up the three who'd chased Cooter on foot, but the other was relentless in its pursuit.

Jesse Duke didn't bother with the road. Cutting a path through the trees, he bounced over stones and splashed across a stream.

"Hey, this ain't Tilly. She's not gonna hold up to you beatin' her up too much."

"Quit worryin', son. You're the best mechanic in these parts. You can fix anything I might break."

Cooter smiled, until he suddenly realized just where the Duke boys got their silver tongues from. Now he understood how they had talked him into so many strange schemes over the years.

"'Sides, you can relax," Jesse said as he came out the other side of the trees onto a reasonably clear path that would lead back to the main road. "I already lost 'em."

"You're right, Uncle Jesse. Compared to you, Bo and Luke are amateurs."

Eyeballing Cooter, Jesse commented, "They ain't the only ones I was referring to."

* * *

Daisy's work was not done. Having successfully distracted Enos, and sent him on his way, she waited for word from her uncle. As soon as she got it, she moved on to her next task, the thing she dreaded, but knew was probably the most important part of Jesse's plan.

The young woman pulled her rearview mirror to an angle that allowed her to check her makeup. The last thing she wanted was to look as miserable as she actually felt about all of this. Satisfied that she looked about as good as she could under the circumstances, Daisy got out of her car and headed towards the county building.

A clearly startled Andy Roach looked up from his desk when she entered the office. He looked far worse than she had when she'd checked her reflection moments ago. There were circles under his red-rimmed eyes, and Daisy thought that he'd probably gotten even less sleep than she had, if he'd slept at all.

"Hey, Daisy," he said, hoping that his gentle tone of voice could convey how little he wanted to fight with her right now.

"Andy," she answered, and while no trace of her anger from last night was evident, neither was there any sign of the affection that she still felt for the man. "We need to talk."

"I'm sorry," Andy began, intending to launch into some kind of an explanation of his actions, but Daisy stopped him.

"We don't have time to talk about how sorry you are. We need to talk about more important things."

"Such as?"

"Last night, while I was out for a nice little drive, I ran into Boss Hogg." Andy started to snicker at Daisy's way of putting things, but one stern look stopped him.

"All right, how is that important?" Andy asked carefully.

"Because I think he sent you out on a chase last night. And I think he's behind a lot of what happened. And right now, my Uncle Jesse has got evidence that Boss, himself, is involved in illegal activities."

"He does? Daisy, that's great. What about Coltrane?" When Daisy's only response was a confused sound, the agent tried again. "Listen, sweetheart," they both winced at the word that had slipped from his lips, "I talked to Joe Higgins this morning. We're ready to make a deal that could make things a lot easier on your cousins. The catch is that the local government, which means Boss Hogg, and the local law, meaning Sheriff Coltrane, have to sign off on it. So have you got anything on the sheriff?"

"Not exactly, but I'll bet Uncle Jesse can shuck and jive Rosco into signing it if Boss does."

Andy looked away for a second, then met Daisy's eyes again. "Daisy, there's one more catch to the deal. Before we do anything, I need to meet with your uncle. Can you set that up?"

"You bet, sugar." That last word slipped out before Daisy could stop it.

* * *

"Rosco…" Hogg said as he hung up the phone, his eyes wide.

"Gyu, yes Boss?" The sheriff had seen his brother-in-law in many different moods, but he'd never been witness to such shock on the man's face before.

"Someone was out at the Hatchapee Mines."

"Well, of course someone was. You've had those same guys workin' out there for a month now." Rosco was still alarmed at the commissioner's pallor, but he certainly didn't understand the man's distress.

"No, you jackass, someone _else_ was out there."

"Oh, no Boss, that couldn't be, because you see, I got Enos out there keepin' an eye on that road. Ain't nobody supposed to get past him."

"Well then you better do something about that no-good deputy of yours, because someone _did_ get out there. And they was takin' pictures."

"Oh, that's nice, it is awful purty out there…" Looking at Boss Hogg's face, Rosco had a sudden insight. "Oh, you mean takin' pictures. Well, Boss, what do you think it means?"

"I don't know, Rosco, but you better hope they was just sight-seein'. 'Cause otherwise, you ain't gonna have a prayer of being sheriff after next month's election."

"Gyu."


	11. Business That Bears Looking Into

_Author's notes: Sorry for the delay in posting, which was not due to Ernesto after all, but just life. Which only gets more complicated from here, so the next chapter is probably another week away. _

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Dukes of Hazzard or any of the main characters, and they've never made me a dime. Not that you can get anything with a dime anymore. Andy's name belongs to Warner Brothers but the rest of it is, I must admit, my fault. Oh, and regardless of what you read here or see on TV, cars belong on the ground, not in the air._

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Chapter 11 – Business That Bears Looking Into

"How do you reckon they're doing out there?" Bo asked his older cousin.

"I'm sure they've got it completely under control," Luke answered, affecting a confidence that he didn't really feel. Bo wasn't fooled.

"I wish there was something we could do to help."

"Me too, cousin."

The boys sat in silence for a while. They just weren't any good at being cooped up together like this. Even as children, when one or the other of them had been sick, they'd found ways to keep from sitting still for too long, whether it was getting out toy cars and setting up imaginary and incredibly complex race tracks, or even, in one infamous incident while they were recuperating from the chicken pox, playing a modified game of baseball in their bedroom. In fact, that one had led to the only time in their childhood that they were forced to sleep in separate rooms. After their uncle had heard the crash of glass exploding out into the back yard, Luke had been hauled off to spend the rest of the evening and overnight with Jesse in the master bedroom, while Lavinia spent the night in the boys' room with Bo. The window had long since been replaced, but there were some dings in the wall that survived as permanent reminders of the game. The boys were more proud of those than all the baseball trophies they'd later bring home.

They were too old for such games now, and besides the Louisville Slugger was back at the farm in their closet. They hadn't seen anyone all day since Enos had left after breakfast, so they couldn't even ask for a checkerboard (under normal circumstances Bo wouldn't play with Luke anymore, having long since grown tired of losing to his cousin) or a deck of cards (Bo could beat Luke at almost any game there, though).

For the millionth time, Bo got up to pace the cell. Luke smirked at the boy. He'd obviously never figured out how to deal with idle time, and if there was one thing Luke might be grateful to the Marines for, it was the opportunity to learn to appreciate the chance to sit still for a little while.

"Anything new in that corner since you was last there, Bo?" The look he received in response was half dirty, until Bo's eyes lit up.

"Look what I got, Luke," Bo said, holding up the prize he'd just dug out from underneath the cot.

"A pencil?" One eyebrow went up. "You so bored that you're actually gonna write somethin', cousin? I ain't never seen you do that unless Jesse was standin' over you threatenin' to tan your hide."

"Funny, Luke. No, look at this." Bo started to sketch on the smooth concrete floor. Shaking his head, Luke joined Bo down there.

"Whatcha doin', Bo?"

"Drawin' our car."

Luke chuckled. Well, why not? Pencil wasn't anything that Enos couldn't get off the floor with a mop and some extra elbow grease. And it would kill some time. "Let me see that pencil, Bo. You're gonna need a bigger chassis than that, to fit the engine we're gonna build."

* * *

"Listen, Mr. Duke, I think you'd better let me do the talking," Andy cautioned as the group headed for Sheriff Coltrane's office.

Jesse snorted. He was not favorably disposed towards Agent Roach, and not because of his job, and not because of the deal they'd just made, but because of the way he'd treated Daisy. Jesse could see that she still had feelings for the man, despite their talk last night. "You listen. You might have a diploma, and you might have a badge. But you ain't got the wherewithal to deal with J. D. Hogg without my help." Softening a little as he remembered that the revenuer didn't have to help them at all, Jesse added, "We'll call it a team effort."

"Yes, sir." Andy was surprised to hear himself say that. He didn't think he'd called anyone sir in at least five years. This Jesse Duke commanded respect, and Andy could see just how hard misleading him must have been on Daisy.

The newly formed "team" consisting of Jesse, Daisy, Andy and Cooter found themselves in luck. As they approached Rosco's closed door, they could hear that Boss was already in there with the sheriff. Andy knocked, but didn't wait for an answer before entering. Best to keep the local law off-guard in this negotiation.

"Good afternoon, Commissioner, Sheriff," Andy began. It was clear that the two men were startled and unprepared for the group that had joined them in the cramped quarters.

"Why, Agent… Agent…" Boss began.

"Roach," Rosco helpfully supplied.

"Dat, Rosco… Agent Roach. To what do we owe the pleasure?" the portly man asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Well, Commissioner, I need your signature on these papers. Yours too, Sheriff."

"What papers?" Boss asked, but snapped them out of Andy's hand and into his own before the man could answer.

"You just take your time and read them carefully," the agent suggested, his arms folded across his chest.

Boss sat at Rosco's desk with the sheriff hovering right behind him and reading over his shoulder. After skimming a few paragraphs, the commissioner gasped.

"Let the Duke boys off with probation? I ain't signin' these papers, no way, nohow. Those criminals down there are goin' to the federal pen where they belong. Why, they're a filthy smudge on Hazzard's clean name."

"J. D. you…" Jesse began, hearing both Daisy and Cooter join him in protest. They were all shushed by Agent Roach's next words.

"You might as well, Commissioner Hogg. As you can see, the Federal Government is not interested in pursuing these charges. Without my testimony, the boys will probably get off scot-free."

"Scot-free, you say… I don't think so, Agent. There's enough evidence with Deputy Strate's testimony alone. And even if they did get off, you'd be setting yourself up for charges of false arrest. On account of, if you don't testify to what you found, then you had no reason to arrest them boys in the first place and you could lose your badge, not to mention the lawsuit they could file…" Boss called his bluff.

Giving his "team" a stern look to keep them quiet, Roach took the next step himself. "Well, now, I don't think you need to worry about me and my badge, because I've got something a little bigger that I can give the Federal Government if I need to. Though I, myself, am largely concerned with violations involving alcohol, tobacco or firearms, the government is interested in all kinds of illegal and unclaimed revenue. And I have evidence here," the agent held up a canister of undeveloped film, "that shows at least one source of undeclared income that you, and I suspect your sheriff there, have. And I'm quite certain that this is not your only illegal activity. I can ensure my value to the government by beginning to track your activities very carefully, Mr. Hogg."

Jesse saw the doubt in his old friend's eyes before the blustering began. "I don't know what you've got there Agent… what's-your-name, but I'm sure it doesn't tie me directly to anything."

"Maybe not, Boss," Cooter jumped in before Roach could stop him, "but them Winter boys that is on that film will give you up in a heartbeat to save their own hides. And everyone in town knows they ain't smart enough to have set up that little operation out there all on their own."

While Andy was busy glaring at Cooter, and Boss and Rosco were exchanging a wordless look, Jesse finally, quietly, spoke up.

"If you all don't mind, I'd like to speak to J. D. alone for a minute."

Once again, Andy found himself muttering, "Yes, sir" along with the rest of the crowd, then filing out of the office into the main squad room. How did the Duke patriarch make him do that?

* * *

"Hey, Luke?" The boys has broken the pencil in half, then used the metal frame of the bed to fashion a reasonable point on the second half so that they could sketch simultaneously. Luke was working on the finer points of the engine, while Bo had begun to detail the exterior of the car itself. The blonde was just adding a star to the rebel flag he'd drawn when he felt compelled to break the silence.

"Yeah?" his older cousin answered, not looking up from his work.

"I still don't think we're gonna get five years or anything, but even if we do, it was worth it."

"How's that?"

"Well that whole chase last night, I keep replaying it in my head. An' I still feel bad about how it ended and all, but you know what?"

"What?" Luke finally gave the boy his full attention. Seemed like he was in for another interesting ride through the unusual logic of his younger cousin's mind.

"All I really keep thinking is how great it was, where the cars just kept coming at us, and we were making all these moves to escape them." Indigo eyes glowed with excitement at the memory. "An' I'll tell you now, if they hadn't outnumbered us we would have gotten away for sure."

Luke chuckled, "Prob'ly."

Bo got serious for a moment. "It was fun, Luke, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, Bo, it was a lot of fun," the older cousin said, laying a hand on the boy's shoulder, and meeting his eyes. A quick smile passed between them, before they returned to their masterpiece on the cement below them.

* * *

"Now, Jesse, you ain't gonna talk me into nothin'. You're just wastin' your time," advised the man in white.

"Well, that may be J. D., but my life's about to change in a very big way no matter how this ends up. Either I lose my boys, or I lose my business. Things like that make a man think about all the good things he's had in life. Good times, good friends… like you J. D. We was good friends once."

Hogg sat down in Rosco's chair, and out of habit opened a drawer, seeking food or 'shine, either way, something to distract him. There was nothing useful there.

"Yep, Jesse, we was. But those times is long gone now."

"That may be, but that don't change the past." Jesse helped himself to a chair, seeing as J. D. Hogg would never think of offering him one.

"No, I guess it don't," the commissioner said, getting up and heading for a filing cabinet to search the drawers. Dang that sheriff, he didn't keep anything useful in this office, just paperwork and handcuffs and other tools of his trade. Not a piece of candy or a potato chip to be found anywhere.

"J. D., sit down. All that pacin' is makin' me nervous." Boss managed not to say 'yes sir,' but he did sit.

"Now, J. D. I know what this is all about. We've known each other all our lives, and at one time we was as close as those boys of mine down there. An' we did a lot of the same things they do, fishin' and chasin' girls…"

The fat man actually smiled, "We sure did."

"And we did our fair share of competin' too, remember? If I got a four point buck, you'd have to get a six pointer…"

"Yeah, I always was a better shot than you was, Jesse." The farmer rolled his eyes, but decided that this was not a time to quibble over such an unimportant exaggeration.

"I think you never got over the fact that Lavinia fell for me, not you, J. D."

"Bah, you don't know what you're talkin' about, Jesse," the fat man bluffed.

"Maybe not," Jesse said agreeably. "But I do know this: you sent that agent after my boys. And I know why you did it. It's okay, J. D., I understand. But you should sign the papers. Because I know you don't want to kill me, and that's what you'd be doin' by sendin' my boys away like that. I know that all you want is my 'shine customers, and you'll get them, 'cause my part of the deal is that I won't make no more 'shine. And you know that if I sign that paper, I'll stick to my end of the bargain." Seeing the other man waver, Jesse gave him one more thing to think about. "Besides, take it from me. You don't want that Andy Roach lookin' into your business. He's ruthless. And you got business that bears lookin' into."

* * *

Daisy had chosen to go outside onto the steps of the building for some fresh air while she awaited the results of her uncle's conversation with Boss. She didn't turn around when she heard the door behind her open, having a pretty good guess as to who would have followed her out.

"Daisy," he said carefully.

Yep, precisely who she'd thought. Over the weeks the only consistent feeling she'd had about this man was turmoil. That had not changed.

"Andy, I…" she swallowed, still not turning towards him. "I guess you know we can't see each other any more," she finished.

The agent nodded, slowly. "I think I knew you'd say that, though I kind of hoped you wouldn't," Andy answered her.

"I ain't mad anymore. I came to you this mornin' plannin' on usin' what we'd had with each other to get you to help us Dukes. An' then I found out you was tryin' to help us already, even though you're the one who caught the boys. I don't understand all of it, but I ain't mad anymore."

"I'm glad to hear that, Daisy."

She finally turned around to see hazel eyes mirroring her own blue pain. "It just ain't fun anymore, though, you know?" she said. "It just hurts now."

They stood in silence for a moment, then Daisy spoke again. "I gotta ask you one thing, though I know the answer's not gonna help either way…"

The next words came gently, "Go ahead, sweetheart."

"I wasn't crazy, was I? We did have somethin' together, didn't we? You wasn't just using me?"

This time Andy looked away for a moment to gather himself, then looked back. "Well, when Joe Higgins introduced us, I knew about your family, what you did for a living, and that no one had caught you. You're all kind of a legend at the ATF, you know. So, I really wanted to catch you all. And the first few times I came into the Boar's Nest, and we seemed to hit it off, I thought maybe you'd spill the beans or something. So I started spending time with you." Seeing the pain in Daisy's eyes, Andy hurried to add, "But as soon as I knew you a little better, well, I really liked you. And when I said I loved you, that was true. And I realized that part of why I loved you is because of who you are, and who your uncle brought you and your cousins up to be."

"Uncle Jesse's real special. He didn't have to take any of us in, but he did, and he couldn't have loved us more if we was his own. Which is why me bein' part of what happened is so awful," Daisy said quietly.

"You never told me a single thing that would help me catch your uncle or the boys. And after a while I decided never to ask. I did watch the farm after dropping you off at night, but I never learned anything there. You didn't have anything to do with them getting caught, and," Andy grinned, "you all sure did make it real hard to catch them. If anything, we got lucky." Daisy wasn't smiling. "Or they got unlucky…" he trailed off, his own smile gone. Neither said anything for awhile, lost in their own thoughts, both studying the step beneath their feet.

"You weren't crazy, Daisy. We had something."

"Thank you, sugar," the young woman said, finally lifting her eyes, then her hand to touch his shoulder. Quickly, she kissed Andy Roach on the cheek, then walked past him and back through the doors to see if her family needed her.

* * *

The group reassembled in Hogg's office this time. It was a little larger and accommodated their slightly increased numbers – Deputy Strate had joined them – more comfortably. Commissioner Hogg pulled himself to his full five and a half foot height, puffed out his chest, which only further expanded his stomach, and began to pontificate.

"Now see here Agent… what's-your-name, I'm gonna sign this here agreement, not because of what you think you can threaten me with, but because I hate to see any Hazzard youth bein' sent away like that, without givin' them the chance to rehabilitate themselves right here. Why, I've known those two boys all their lives, an' I'd just hate to see them in any real trouble."

As Cooter watched the entire room roll their eyes, he was reminded of something his mother had once had a habit of saying: '_Cooter Davenport, don't you make that kind of a face or it just might get stuck that way!'_ He bit his lip to keep from snickering, just as he had always done when his mother dispensed her invaluable advice.

"And you, Sheriff?" Andy asked.

"Well, I…"

"The Sheriff will also sign the agreement," Boss Hogg interrupted.

"But…"

"Dat, dat, dat… Rosco," Hogg started, meaningfully, "elections is comin' up. You don't want an investigation goin' on right now."

"But, Boss, I didn't…"

"Rosco!" the man in white snapped.

"Gyu. I'll just sign that document, then."

* * *

In the excitement of the boys' release, the details of how it had happened were not immediately revealed. All Bo and Luke knew was that their pencils were down to stubs, their breakfast had long since ceased to sustain them, and they were seriously wondering if everyone had forgotten about them. Just as they were considering the indignity of screaming for attention, they got more than they anticipated. Daisy and Cooter had been able to run the fastest, and were there first, announcing the good news. Enos was not far behind, with the keys to the cell already in hand to unlock the door. Before they could step out, their family and friends were inside with them. Hugs, kisses and slaps on the back were exchanged with wild abandon. A rebel yell or two could be heard in the next county.

"Wijit!" Rosco stood back, twitching in frustration. It wasn't that he wanted to see the Duke boys hauled off the prison, because as annoying as they could be, he kind of liked them. He was just tired of feeling shoved around, told what he should do without being consulted. He was, after all, the sheriff, but somehow that didn't seem to matter when Boss Hogg kept making his decisions for him. He was just grateful that those Dukes were generating so much noise that they couldn't hear the sounds that were involuntarily escaping his lips.

"Hey, Enos, you don't mind if we dig up the floor do you?" the sheriff heard Bo Duke asking his deputy. "We got some important plans drawn up on there."

"You Dukes just get out of my jail now, gij, just go. Get home before I charge you for defacing county property, ijit!"

"All right, Rosco, all right, we're goin'. Thanks for the hospitality, though. Feel free to come on out and visit us at the farm if you get to missin' us too much," Luke said with a wink as the happy group left the jail to head out into the daylight.

"Just… go. Gyu." As the din faded, Rosco found himself alone once again, without any friends. Even that wet-behind-the-ears dipstick deputy of his seemed to have people that liked to be around him. The sheriff sat down at the desk that faced the now empty cells, and sighed.

"Are those dang Dukes gone?" Rosco jumped and turned to see the only man he didn't really want to talk to right now entering the jail area.

"Jit! Yes, Boss, they just went."

"Good. At least it'll be quiet around here for a little while."

"Boss? Why did we just sign that agreement? All you been tryin' to do for the past month is bust them Dukes for makin' 'shine."

"Why, Rosco, I did it for you."

"For me, gyu? How's that, Boss?"

"Well, on account of I want you to get re-elected, Sheriff, and you don't need an investigation besmirching your good name," Boss simpered.

"So, you're tellin' me that it had nothin' to do with them pictures that Roach had, you was just tryin' to save me?"

"Why, of course, Rosco. You are my brother-in-law, ain't you?"

At that moment Rosco made a conscious decision. He could be lonely, or he could accept this man's friendship on the terms that it was offered.

"Well, wasn't that nice of you, khee khee, my little fat buddy."

* * *

Luke held the document in the light where he and Bo could read it together. He could feel his cousin tensing next to him, even as he read the words he knew had upset the blonde.

_In return for the freedom of Lukas K. and Beauregard Duke, the family is never to make nor sell whiskey again…_

"Easy, Bo," he said so quietly that only the boy right next to him could hear. It did no good.

"Uncle Jesse? How could you sign this?" Bo asked, his voice wavering in that way he'd always hated. The meal they'd just had was churning in his stomach at the thought of what his uncle had given up.

"Because it meant that you wouldn't have to go to prison, son."

"Maybe, but it means givin' up the moonshine business. You ain't got no other business."

"Now, Bo, I want you to listen to me real carefully. You too, Luke." The older man paused while he considered just how to make his kids understand. He looked across at the two of them, sitting side-by-side on the sofa, close enough to feel each other's warmth. The features of their shared bloodline were vividly apparent to their uncle, who could see shadows of each of his brothers in them. "There's things we can live without, and then there's things we can't. We can make our way on less money. We can even find a way to do without the farm, if we have to." Jesse held up his hands for silence, stopping both boys from the interjections they had been about to make. "I don't want to, and I don't plan on it, but we could, if we had to. What we can't make it without, is each other. In real value, we're all each other's got. Everything else is worthless."

"But Jesse, it just woulda been five years, not forever," Luke finally got some words in.

"Only five years?" Jesse yelled, startling himself as much as his nephews. "Boy, how many years do you think I got on this Earth that you're willing to dismiss five of them like they're nothin'? You especially. I just got over worryin' about you every minute of the day. For three years while you was over there," the old man gestured, finding he couldn't even say the name of the country, "I didn't hardly sleep for not knowin' whether you was in danger, hurt or worse…"

This was news not only to Luke, but Bo as well. Their uncle had never let on how much he'd worried after his oldest charge. Carefully, so as not to elicit another outburst, Luke tried again.

"But 'shine makin' is a family tradition. You yourself taught us that we ain't never had no other trade, not since we settled in these parts more than two hundred years ago."

"We have other family traditions that have been around longer than that. Lookin' out for each other and stickin' together are two of them. An' if we do them two things, we can do without the old line of business. With three good, strong men, we can plant other crops besides corn, maybe cotton, and we can harvest and sell them. If times is lean, you boys can do odd jobs, and we got Daisy's income…"

"Plus what's left of the money I earned in the service," Luke added.

"And then there's what we're gonna make racin'," Bo said with a grin.

"Boys, makin' whiskey was a good trade for a lot of years, but its time has passed. I knew that back when you was kids, but I was too stubborn to give it up. Facin' the idea of you two bein' punished for that stubbornness… I planned to give it up even before we was offered the deal. So you boys didn't make me do nothin' I wasn't gonna do anyway."

Everyone sat in silence, not sure what to say, until Uncle Jesse spoke again, gruffly.

"Now get out there and do your chores. Did you think they was gonna do themselves?"

"Yes sir."

"And when you's done with that I want you to come in here and rest. Bo, you ain't been cleared by the doctor for hard work yet, but as soon as you are, you boys can start buildin' a fence around that back pasture."

"Uncle Jesse?" Bo's voice went up that register, the one that indicated confusion.

"Well, we's gonna need to get us some beef cattle to tide us over until we can plant new crops come spring. And besides," Jesse somehow managed to keep his face stern, "you boys just spent the night in jail. Did you think I wasn't gonna come up with extra chores to punish you?"

"Yes sir."

The patriarch smiled as he watched his boys push and shove each other out the door, pretending to be annoyed with one another, but obviously just enjoying the chance to roughhouse after being penned up all night.

"Be careful, boys," he called after them.


	12. This One's Gonna Be a Him

_Author's notes: Hi all! Thanks to all those readers who have stayed with me through this story, and as always, double thanks to the reviewers. Sorry these last chapters have been slow in coming, but the whole relocating thing has been very complex. Thanks for your patience!_

_Disclaimers: I don't own the Dukes or any of the main characters, nor, for that matter, the settings. I have now seen the original 'Hazzard Square,' however, so maybe this will make writing in-town scenes a little easier. I own half of Andy, but he was only a temporary resident of the town anyway. No car chases in this chapter, so I don't have to warn you not to do what I write, but never, ever, take a wrench to your cousin's neck..._

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* * *

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Chapter 12 – This One's Gonna Be a Him

The following week, the family went up to the old still and removed the copper "worm" from the works, rendering it useless, should anyone stumble onto it. Then they camouflaged the rest of the site so that it was unlikely that it would ever be found, by mistake or on purpose. Jesse could not bring himself to destroy the tools of his lifelong trade, so aside from removing the worm, the still itself was left intact. The remaining bottles of 'shine were collected and squirreled around the farm for, as Jesse put it, medicinal purposes. The copper worm was stashed in the loft of the old barn at the back of the property.

That ceremonial act performed, the family began to stumble through their new way of life. Daisy continued to work at the Boar's Nest, but only upon her uncle's insistence. At first she wanted nothing to do with Boss Hogg, but the man who'd raised her reminded Daisy that forgiveness was an important part of being a Duke, and besides, the job was something she needed in orderto fulfill her independent nature. Eventually, the young woman swallowed some of her anger and went back to work, much to the pleasure of the clientele.

Using a large chunk of their 'shine savings, the family invested in some Hereford cows, most of which they intended to resell for a profit at the annual Harvest Fair. The others would be sold throughout the winter, or if worse came to worst, used to feed the Dukes themselves. The Duke patriarch reminded himself that this was a one time investment only; they were not becoming cattle ranchers, just buying themselves a year until the next spring's planting, when they would put in new crops that had a greater value than corn on the open market.

Once the new fences had been built, the cattle had been settled and the altered routine of running a different kind of farm had been established, the boys involved themselves in two main activities: hunting game and hunting mechanical parts for their jailhouse-conceived project. Both of these activities were undertaken as a team, and kept the boys very busy.

They'd hunted game their whole lives, but now, thanks to the terms of their probation, they were doing it exclusively with bow and arrow. Both were already good marksmen, but they'd also been raised with a respect for the prey they sought. They had no desire to inflict more pain than was strictly necessary, and thus both strove for clean kills. Achieving this goal meant a lot of time together, practicing and learning from one another. Luke was stronger, Bo had the longer reach, and between them they quickly became extremely adept at the skill.

Hunting mechanical parts was also not exactly new to the boys. Along with Cooter, Brody and DoBro, they'd been climbing through junkyards almost since the day they could walk. When the family had gone over its finances, they'd parsed out a small amount of Luke's savings from the Marines to go towards the stock car they intended to build. After all, many a moonshine runner had turned race car driver before, so maybe Bo and Luke would be at the forefront of their family's new tradition. Every free moment they got or created for themselves was spent scouring junkyards, pestering Cooter for deals, or actually assembling the few parts they already had.

Spending that much time together was a necessity in order to ensure the family's survival, but the boys found it easier to do now than they had over the past few months. And if their uncle was quieter than he'd been before, and seemed to spend a lot more time thinking, they were almost too busy to notice.

* * *

Come September 5th, a full month after the boys' arrest, and nearly two months before the Harvest Fair, local elections were held. During the intervening month, the Sheriff's department had "raided" the chop shop, netting four arrests. Those taken into custody were the lower level workers, who knew only the other men working in the shop, but not the identity of the actual owner of the operation. The "foremen," which had included a couple of local boys named Winter, had disappeared across county lines, and were wanted, but somehow never caught. A photo of Sheriff Rosco Coltrane, cuffing one of the suspects, with his head cocked and grinning from ear to ear, was published on the front page of the Hazzard Gazzette.

As always, elections were a disorganized affair in Hazzard, thanks in large part to the fact that the polling location was also the town's only social gathering place, the Boar's Nest. One table was commandeered by the board of elections, while the rest of the place operated as normal. Fortunately the polls closed at 6:00 PM, before the roadhouse could get really rowdy. However, due to the constant traffic created by civic-minded Hazzardites, the Boar's Nest did more business during the day of elections than it did on an average Saturday night.

During a lull in the action, Daisy rested behind the bar. She'd managed to get beyond her anger at Boss Hogg, and seemed to have gotten past the worst of the aftermath of her relationship with Andy Roach. The revenuer was still stationed in Hazzard, though Daisy had heard through the grapevine that he sought a position in Atlanta. He'd come to the 'Nest a few times, where he and Daisy had seen each other, spoken of nothing more complicated than the weather, and settled into an uneasy coexistence that wasn't exactly pleasant, but did seem to be manageable.

Since Rosco was up for re-election, he could not oversee the polling process, which left Enos at the Boar's Nest for the entire day. The deputy was merely to watch, not to be involved with the election committee in any way, so he'd spent a mostly boring day watching people stuff their ballots, one by one, into the box. When the activity paused for awhile after lunchtime, Enos looked up to accidentally meet deep blue eyes. He instantly looked down again, and stumbled his way towards to bar for a chance to talk to his favorite girl.

"Hey, Daisy," he managed.

"Hey, sugar, how you handling that rough election crowd?" Daisy joked.

"Well, you know Daisy, it ain't really all that rough. Just nice people comin' and goin'," Enos answered, not understanding Daisy's giggles. In fact, in all the years he'd gone out of his way to sit next to her in math class, he'd never understood why she laughed when she did, but Enos didn't care. The sound itself was enough to make him happy.

"Well, I don't know about that Enos. I think they'd be a lot rougher if there wasn't a big strong man like you keepin' 'em under control," Daisy said with a wink. She knew she shouldn't tease him that way, after all, they weren't kids anymore, but she just loved to see that shy smile that he saved just for her, and only when she did tease him. Daisy had come to believe that there was something to be said for menshe'd known her whole life.

Enos began to feel distinctly uncomfortable with Daisy looking at him like that, and although he mostly didn't mind his discomfort, he was on duty at the moment and couldn't afford to let himself to get too excited right now. So instead he changed the subject.

"How's things at the farm, Daisy?"

"They're goin' great. We got the Herefords an' the boys have been clearing the south forty so's we can plant cotton out there next spring. We're still gonna grow corn, but the cotton will be our cash crop. An' the boys are workin' on some secret project in the barn…" Daisy hesitated. She didn't know what her cousins were doing in there; whatever it was, they locked it up every night in an old storage cabinet. She wasn't sure whether mentioning it to Enos had been a smart move or not.

"I sure am glad to hear that Daisy. I was real happy when the boys got probation instead of bein' sent away. An' I think it's great that things are gettin' back to normal for you all." Enos quickly left the beautiful young woman's side to return to duty, though there were still no new voters coming into the establishment. Her stunning smile could pull the truth right out of him if only she knew to ask. He'd been privy to the boys' visits to that cell they'd spent the night in a month ago, seen them studying the floor for faint markings that he'd somehow never been able to completely scrub away. He had a good idea of what they were working on in that barn.

* * *

Sheriff Coltrane was tired of being angry. He'd spent almost the entire summer in frustration over one incident or another, whether it was having to look the other way when a petty crime was committed, or feigning that his actions were of his own choice and not dictated by his brother-in-law. Even in his moment of glory with the chop-shop bust there's been the indignity of pretending not to have captured (and then escorted out of the county) the four most important criminals involved. So, on the day following Election Day, when the votes had been tallied and Miss Sue Ellen, election committee chairwoman, announced the results to him, Rosco was too tired to be angry anymore. Instead he simply left his office and walked over to the bank, where he knew he'd find the man in white.

Rosco strolled past the teller area to the private section towards the back of the bank, where Boss Hogg sat in one of the four offices he'd created for himself around the town. For the briefest of moments, Rosco's lip curled in distaste as he regarded the man sitting before him with a fistful of money and a mouthful of cigar. But the moment passed almost before Rosco registered the feelings it contained.

"Uh, Boss?"

"Rosco, didn't I tell you never to interrupt me when I'm counting? Now I'm gonna have to start all over again."

"Gyu, well yes, you did tell me that, but you see, you also told me to tell you right away when the results of the election were in, and they're in now. Gyu."

"All right, all right, Rosco. What are they?"

"Well, khee, I was re-elected Sheriff," Rosco said with a tight, proud smile.

"Well of course you was. How could you not be, with my endorsement?"

"Right, Boss. But, uh, my pension was voted down. Twenty-five years of good service to this community and five years away from being eligible for it, and it was voted down. I tell you it just, it boils my liver."

"It what? Oh, never mind Rosco. You won't be missin' that pension none."

"Whaddya mean, I won't miss it? I miss it already and I ain't even had it yet."

"Oh, Rosco, listen," Boss signaled for the sheriff to move closer and began to whisper confidentially. "You ain't gonna miss it because we're gonna open a new franchise."

"Open a," Rosco began in full voice, then caught himself. "Khee, a new franchise? What's, what's that gonna be, Boss?" he finished in a whisper.

"Never you mind the details, Rosco. What you need to do is find me three dishonest men to run it. And Rosco," Hogg's jowls tensed, indicating his seriousness on this subject, "they gotta be from outside of Hazzard. We don't want no one bein' able to convince them to turn us in. You understand me?"

"Gyu, yes Boss."

"All right now, Rosco, you just go out and be Sheriff like the fine people of this town elected you to be."

"Gyu, right Boss," Rosco said. He lifted his chin and headed towards his patrol car, dismissing, almost before it was fully formed, the idea that the fat man had somehow engineered the demise of the sheriff's pension.

* * *

"I still say we should break into the jail and dig up that section of the floor. That way we wouldn't have to keep going back there."

"Bo, you have got to be the only turnip-brain I know that would break into a jail. Besides, if you'd ever learned how to study you'd be able to retrieve that drawing from your memory," Luke teased.

"Yeah, well if you're so smart, how come you have to go back there and consult it, too?" Bo challenged.

"I just go with you to make sure you don't get yourself into trouble is all," Luke answered as he tightened a bolt. The two of them had been working on the engine that would someday be the fastest in the county, just as they had promised each other. They frequently bantered like this while they worked, and Luke found it comforting. It was a way to keep things light, which he still preferred. He'd already told Bo more than he'd meant to about Vietnam, and now that he had a better grip on himself, he didn't plan to let go again. The truth was, he'd long ago figured out that they could have traced their original drawing onto onion skin paper and brought the sketch home. But as long as they were constantly active, moving from chores to hunting to working on this project, he could enjoy his cousin without the discomfort that he'd felt over the summer. And it also kept them away from places like the Boar's Nest, which still made the Marine uncomfortable. He knew he wasn't exactly the man he'd been before he went away, but he'd found a peaceful existence for now, and he intended to keep careful hold of it.

"Get myself in trouble? I ain't the one who started in on ol' Rosco the other day," Bo laughed at the memory. It wasn't what Luke had said, which was really just an off-hand comment on Rosco's driving skills, but the response he'd gotten. Bo did his best to recreate it now, "Wijit, khee, now Luke Duke, you just, you… you're makin' me mad, don't you tempt me now, Gijit!"

Both boys dissolved into a fit of laughter. Despite Luke's best efforts, Bo had grown up an awful lot during the summer. He could still be impetuous, but he had managed to become a little more deliberate at times, too, especially when dealing with his older cousin. At some point he'd figured out that the less he pushed Luke to open up, the more he got in return. But most importantly, he'd learned to accept his cousin as he was, not as he wanted him to be. Luke could still be incredibly frustrating to the boy, but if Bo didn't let on how much it bothered him, his cousin was less likely to take off and find some solo activity that did not include Bo.

* * *

Daisy could hear the boys laughing in the barn, and knew they were working on whatever it was that they hadn't showed her. Bo and Luke had always been close and over the years she'd tried, half-successfully, not to feel left out. She'd joined in their activities and they'd always been sure to include her, and there was no question that they all loved each other dearly. But the bond between the boys was something that she couldn't come close to experiencing, or hadn't, except with a certain hazel-eyed revenuer, thoughts of whom still provoked intense pain…

That thought shook her back to her purpose in coming out here in the first place. While she wouldn't exactly mind startling the boys into showing her whatever it was they'd been doing out here, the primary reason for her visit was to settle things between the three of them. She knew that Jesse'd told the boys about her and Andy, and she'd even held a brief and extremely awkward conversation with them on the subject herself, during which they'd admitted to having been mad at first, but not for long. Despite her protests to the contrary, Bo and Luke believed that the revenuer's feelings for Daisy had been a part of why Agent Roach had helped them get off the hook in the end, so they claimed to no longer be upset. And much of the time she'd felt that their words were true, but when they began working on something that they weren't sharing with her, she wondered whether their trust in her had been more shaken than they let on.

Daisy took a deep breath and entered the barn, quietly calling, "Hey, fellas," to announce herself.

"Daisy, what are you doin' in here?" Bo asked, disappointed that he hadn't had the time to shove what he was working on into the storage cabinet before she'd seen it.

"I'm sorry, fellas," Daisy said, looking down. "I know you didn't want me in here, but I need to talk to y'all."

"It's okay, sweetheart," Luke said gently, shooting Bo a quick look. His blonde cousin already looked so contrite that Luke knew he didn't have to say anything to him. "What's up?"

The young woman sat on a bale of hay, slightly away from the boys. She wasn't sure how she expected them to react to the upcoming conversation, but she wanted a little space between them. Well, what she really wanted was to go and put her arms around each of them, but if they were really upset with her and they pulled away… that would be worse than her already being across the barn's aisle from them in the first place. She looked at her hands and quietly began to say what she'd rehearsed in her mind all week.

"I just, I wanted to tell you all about what happened with Andy and me."

"Did something new happen?" Luke asked carefully, not sure why this was coming up now.

"No, it's just, we never really talked about it, or not all of it." She felt the bale shift a little as Bo sat down beside her.

"What else is there to know?" her younger cousin asked.

"Only that, when I started to see Andy, I never knew what was gonna happen later on. I knew he was a revenuer an' all, an' I was careful never to tell him anything. An' he never told me anything either, so I didn't know he was wacthin' you boys."

Bo actually smiled. "Well we know that Daisy, otherwise you would have told us what was comin'."

Daisy was surprised at the faith he had in her, after all that had happened. "I just wanted you boys to know that I would never do anything to hurt you. Not on purpose."

"Shoot, darlin', we know that," Luke said, bracing himself on the small bit of hay that was available on the opposite side of Daisy from Bo.

The young woman scooted over closer to her younger cousin, making more room for the older one. "An' that I'm sorry I didn't tell you who was bringin' me home at night," she added, confessing to what she knew was her worst crime. Bo's arm came around her shoulders.

"Well, I wish you had, Daisy-girl, but I ain't holdin' it against you," he said. "I can see where you wouldn't want to tell us."

Luke gave her a token swat and added, "You ever do that again, an' I'll be really mad, but I'm gonna forgive you this time. Remember what I said, though. The fallin' in love part just kinda happens. The part you control is what you do about it. So, next time what you do about it is you tell me the whole story, okay?"

Daisy managed a small smile. "And what would you have done if I'd told you?"

"I don't rightly know," Luke admitted, "but I don't want us keepin' secrets from one another. It ain't a good idea. We need to trust each other."

His female cousin's smile grew a little bit. "_You_ don't want us keepin' secrets."

"No, I don't," Luke said with a frown.

Daisy stood up and walked over to where the boys had been working. She had something of an understanding of mechanics, having learned from her uncle alongside the boys. But whatever this thing was, she didn't recognize it. "What's this then, Mr. No Secrets?"

"Well, that's more of a surprise," Bo began.

"No, seriously boys, what is it?" Daisy asked, picking up a small assembled section.

"Hey!" Luke was suddenly at her side, rescuing his prized possession from her grasp.

"It's only the fastest engine in all of Georgia," said Bo, his voice full of wounded pride.

"For what? A lawnmower?" Daisy asked, eyebrow arched. Bo made a grab for her, and she turned to run from him when Luke caught her from behind.

"Now you ain't gonna get to ride in it," the blonde warned.

"Ride in what? There ain't nothin' to ride in," Daisy said, pressing her luck.

"Not yet," Bo informed her. "But when there is, you're gonna be sorry. You'll be beggin' us to let you drive him."

"Him?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, I got a feelin' this one's gonna be a him."

Luke laughed, "And Daisy, honey, when _he's_ done, that yellow car will be yours, okay? You always liked it better'n me, anyways."

Daisy turned in his arms and hugged him back, "Thank you, Luke." She moved away from her older cousin to take hold of the younger, "Love you, Bo."

"Love you too, Daisy," he answered, planting a kiss on the top of her head.

"Just," Luke said to Daisy, "make sure you actually take old yeller there out for a real spin every now and then, not just your wimpy female kind of driving." He winked at Bo.

"Luke!" Daisy turned back to take on her older cousin.

"Ah, cousin, you know she can't help it. I mean, she is a girl after all, ain't she?" Bo fed the fire.

"Bo!" Daisy reached for a good sized wrench.

"Well, and what do you expect," Luke said, stepping closer to his blonde cousin, anticipating what was coming. "Takin' it shopping and to the hairdressers and all. No wonder the poor car gets the vapors." Before another word could be said, both boys took off running at top speed.

* * *

Jesse Duke was doing his best to adjust to the changes in his family. There was a saying in these parts about old men like him having 'shine in their blood, and Jesse thought that it was probably at least partially true. Not that he'd consumed so very much of the stuff; leastwise compared to most of his colleagues in the business, his own drinking habits were very moderate. It was more that once you'd spent a lifetime making and delivering moonshine, it was very hard to stop doing it.

The Duke patriarch had spent a lot of time talking with his maker. He'd meant every word that he'd said to the boys about it being time for the Dukes to find a new line of work. It was just the doing part that was so hard. He knew he had the support of his children, and that helped. But he also sought guidance from above, wanting some confirmation that he was doing what was best for his family.

From where he sat on the porch of the old farmhouse, he could look out across the fields that made up the Duke property, or what was left of it after the depression had forced his own father to sell a few parcels off. It was beautiful land, with some of the best topsoil in the county. And the boys had done a fine job of turning some of it into pasture, while all four of them had worked together to prepare another section for the following spring's planting season. They were good kids, all three of them, and they deserved a stable living. Moonshine would have provided them with more money, but he hoped that farming would be a safer endeavor for the Duke clan in the coming generations.

Jesse started when he heard a shriek, followed by laughter. Before he could even pull himself onto his feet, he saw one blonde streak and another brunette, both flying towards the old oak tree in the middle of the farmyard, not fifty feet away from where he sat. Right behind came the slender lines of his niece, carrying a much misused tool in her hands.

"Y'all get back here. You're gonna take that back if it's the last thing you do!"

"No way," hollered Luke, running away from the tree and distracting one cousin so the other could climb to relative safety.

"I'm gonna make you eat those words," Daisy screamed, chasing after her older cousin while he used his fondly remembered high school football maneuvers to evade her.

From up on one of the lower branches of the tree, the youngest called out, "Take her up on it Lukas! It'll probably be better than whatever she makes for dinner!"

As Daisy changed direction, looking to use the wrench on Bo's neck, and Luke headed for yet another oak, seeking whatever shelter it could provide, their uncle finally found his feet.

"You kids behave yourselves now!" Jesse called out gruffly, and his white beard hid a peaceful smile.

_**Where one story ends, another begins...**_


End file.
